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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24952195">The Empire Strikes Back</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ashton210/pseuds/Ashton210'>Ashton210</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>RWBY STYLE [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>RWBY, Star Wars: Clone Wars (2003) - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 09:09:51</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>22,116</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24952195</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ashton210/pseuds/Ashton210</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The Empire Strikes Back With Rwby characters.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>RWBY STYLE [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1751530</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. 1 Start</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…</p><p>STAR WARS</p><p>The Empire Strikes Back</p><p>It is a dark time for the Rebellion. Although the Death Star has been destroyed, Imperial troops have driven the Rebel forces from their hidden base and pursued them across the galaxy.</p><p>Evading the dreaded Imperial Starfleet, a group of freedom fighters led by Ruby Rose has established a new secret base on the remote ice world of Hoth.</p><p>The evil lord Darth Vader, obsessed with finding young Rose, has dispatched thousands of remote probes into the far reaches of space…</p><p>The text retreated into the void, and the camera panned down to a Star Destroyer drifting through space. Beneath it, dozens of probes were launched from its hangar. The last of these probes directed itself to a world covered in ice. It survived re-entry and impacted the ground with enough force to send snow and dirt flying twenty feet in the air.</p><p>Rising up from the crater was a robot of some kind, with two half-oval section, the top of which had several lenses and a pair of antennae, and a series of long spindly arms hanging beneath it. It slowly rose from the crater, and took in its surroundings. Seeing no immediate threats, it moved out with a soft repetitive humming sound.</p><p>Not far off, a person on a strange bipedal beast rode across the tundra. They were dressed head to toe in heavy beige and white clothes, a pair of goggles over their face and had a strip of thick red cloth attached to their hat covering their mouth. The rider stopped at the top of a hill and looked around. Their outfit was covered in ice and snow, showing that they had been in the cold for quite a while.</p><p>The rider took off the red cloth and goggles to reveal a somewhat older Ruby Rose. She looked around and saw the probe impact with the ground. Frowning slightly, she took out a pair of macrobinoculars and took a look. Bubkiss. Nothing but a debris cloud. Putting the macrobinoculars down, she dusted off the communicator on her glove.</p><p>"Echo 3 to Echo 7. Yang, can you hear me?" she said.</p><p>"Loud and clear, kid." The voice of Yang said back. "What's up?"</p><p>"Well, I finished my circle. I'm not picking up any life readings."</p><p>"There's not enough life on this ice ball to fill a space cruiser." Yang snarked back, making Ruby chuckle. "Sensors are in place. I'm headed back"</p><p>"Gotcha. I'll see you shortly. There's a meteorite that hit the ground near here. I'm gonna go check it out. Won't take long." Ruby closed the link and her mount began braying and bucking in place. "Whoa, easy girl. What's wrong? You smell something?"</p><p>As if in response, Ruby turned and saw a giant white face roaring at her.</p><p>It took a swipe with a massive arm and knocked her from her mount- knocking her out at the same time- and then doing the same to her mount. It's attack successful, it grabbed Ruby and her mount by the ankles and dragged them through the snow back to it's lair.</p><p>Meanwhile, another rider in beige pants and a heavy black coat with a fur-lined hood rode into a hangar flanked by a pair of white laser turrets. The hangar was lined with strange craft at the entrance with familiar star fighters in the back surrounding the beautiful sight of the <em>Millennium Falcon</em>. A pair of handlers came and took custody of the beast as the rider dismounted and took off the hood, revealing a rosy cheeked Yang Xiao Long who shook her wild blonde mane out and strode off towards the <em>Falcon</em>.</p><p>"Blake? Blake!" she called up to her cat-eared first mate, who was busy working on the Falcon, a soldering tool in one hand and a pair of goggles at her eyes in the other.</p><p>"Well look who decided to show up! You know how fucking long I've been waiting on your ass?" Blake yelled back, shaking the soldering tool at her captain.</p><p>"Hey, hey, easy! Don't lose your temper!" Yang said defensively. "I'll check in, come right back and help you out."</p><p>"Believe that when I see it." Blake muttered angrily as she returned to her work and Yang walked off for the command center.</p><p>The command center was a large room deeper within the base- which itself was built within an ice shelf, turning it into a natural fortress. The walls were lined with metal plating and lights, while the ceiling was solid ice with more lights running across it. The interior was lined with workstations that showed complex readouts Yang had no idea how to read. Looking around, she saw Weiss look away from her back at the workstation she was overseeing. Huffing, Yang walked up to an older man in a dark jacket and gloves.</p><p>"Xiao Long." he said, acknowledging her presence.</p><p>"No signs of life out there, General." She reported. "Sensors are all in place, you'll know if anything comes knocking."</p><p>"Commander Rose report in yet?" he asked.</p><p>"No. She went to check out a meteorite that impacted near her."</p><p>"All the meteor activity in this system, it's gonna be hard to spot approaching ships."</p><p>"General, I gotta leave. I can't stay anymore." Yang said bluntly.</p><p>"I'm sorry to hear that." The general said genuinely.</p><p>"Well, there's a price on my head. Either I pay Roman Torchwick or I'm a dead woman."</p><p>"A death mark's not an easy thing to live with." The general agreed, offering Yang his hand. "You're a good fighter, Yang. I hate to lose you."</p><p>"Thank you, sir." Yang said, shaking the hand. Then, she walked over to Weiss. "Well, Your Highness, I guess this is it."</p><p>Weiss nodded in agreement. "That's right."</p><p>Yang's face soured immediately. "Well, no need to get all mushy on me. So long, Princess." With that, she stormed off, her eyes flickering between red and lilac.</p><p>"Yang!" Weiss called after her, following her into a hallway.</p><p>"Yes, Your Highnessness?" Yang said sarcastically.</p><p>"I thought you had decided to stay."</p><p>"Well, the bounty hunter we met back on Ord Mantell kinda changed my mind."</p><p>"Yang, we need you!" Weiss pleaded.</p><p>"<em>We </em>need?" Yang asked, "Well, what about <em>you </em>need?"</p><p>"<em>I </em>need? I don't know what you're talking about."</p><p>"You probably don't." and Yang walked off, a rather frustrated Weiss following after her.</p><p>"And what precisely am I supposed to know?" Weiss asked loudly, practically stomping after Yang.</p><p>"Come on! You want me to stay because of the way you feel about me."</p><p>"Yes! You're a great help to us. You're a natural leader."</p><p>"No! That's not it. Come on." As a worker walked between them, Yang saw Weiss' cheeks darken and pressed. "A-ha! Come on."</p><p>"You're imagining things." Weiss shot back, attempting to regain ground.</p><p>"Am I? then why are you following me? Afraid I was gonna leave without giving you a goodbye kiss?"</p><p>"I'd just as soon kiss a Faunus."</p><p>"I can arrange that." Yang stormed off back towards the hangar, yelling back her last word. "You could use a good kiss!"</p><p>About half an hour later, Ren was walking through the halls of the fortress towards the hangar, Penny at his side as always.</p><p>"Don't try to blame me." Ren argued with his beeping counterpart. "I didn't ask you to turn on the thermal heater. I merely commented that it was freezing in the princess's chamber." Whistles from Penny. "But it's <em>supposed</em> to be freezing. How we're going to dry out her clothes, I really don't know." Whistling and raspberries. "Oh, switch off."</p><p>They walked up to the<em> Falcon</em>, where Yang was busy arguing with Blake underneath the ship.</p><p>"Why'd you take this apart now?" she asked, "I'm trying to get us outta here and you pull both of these- "</p><p>"Excuse me, ma'am." Ren said as the two droids approached.</p><p>"Put 'em back together right now!" Yang ordered as she walked over to Ren. "What?"</p><p>"Well, it's Princess Weiss, ma'am. She's been trying to get you on the communicator."</p><p>"I turned it off. I don't wanna talk to her."</p><p>"Oh. Well, Princess Weiss is wondering about Mistress Ruby. She hasn't come back yet, and the Princess doesn't know where she is."</p><p>Yang frowned slightly. "I don't know where she is." Ruby was a big girl, and Yang trusted her, especially after everything they had been through together since they had met on Tatooine two years ago.</p><p>"Nobody knows where she is." Ren told her, and Yang's frowned deepened.</p><p>"What do you mean 'nobody knows?'"</p><p>"Well, uh, you see- " but he was cut off as Yang moved past him, calling for the deck officer. He tried to speak, but was again cut off when Yang covered his voice grill as a soldier came up to them.</p><p>"Do you know where Commander Rose is?" she asked the man.</p><p>"I haven't seen her." the officer admitted. "It's possible she came in through the south entrance."</p><p>"It's possible? Well, why don't you go check? It's getting dark out there."</p><p>"Yes ma'am." The soldier nodded and ran off.</p><p>"Excuse me, ma'am," Ren asked, "But might I inquire what's going on?"</p><p>"Why not?" Yang said absent-mindedly, her thoughts clearly on the well-being of the girl she now thought of as a sister.</p><p>"Impossible woman." Ren shook his head. "Come along, P3, let's find Princess Weiss. between us, I think Mistress Ruby is in considerable danger."</p><p>Yang walked into the tauntaun pens and saw a group of staff officers in the midst of a conversation.</p><p>"Ma'am, Commander Rose hasn't come in the south entrance." The deck officer reported. "It's possible he forgot to check in."</p><p>"Not likely." Yang said, "Are the speeders ready to go yet?"</p><p>"Not quite. We've had some trouble adapting them to the cold."</p><p>"Then we'll have to go out on tauntaun." Yang said and walked over to one of the beasts that still had a saddle on.</p><p>"Ma'am, the temperature's dropping too rapidly." The officer protested.</p><p>"Yeah, and my friend's out in it." she fired back as she climbed into the saddle.</p><p>"Your tauntaun'll freeze before you reach the first marker." He warned her one last time.</p><p>"Then I'll see you in hell. Hyah!" she snapped the reins and led her mount out of the hanger at a full gallop.</p><p>Ruby started as she heard an echoing roar. Her silver eyes slowly fluttered open as she finally regained consciousness. It took another second before her body caught up with her brain and she groaned. Her <em>everything </em>hurt, but the throbbing in her head was currently the biggest pain. Her being hung upside down by her ankles certainly didn't help.</p><p>Quickly taking in her surroundings, she found that she was in an ice cave, and if the skeletons frozen into the floor and walls were any indication, it was the home of whatever had attacked her and her mount. This was immediately confirmed when she heard loud munching noises coming from in front of her. There, she saw the beast not even a hundred yards from her, loudly eating from the carcass of her mount. Seeing her eventual fate, she quickly took action, curling upwards to try and free her feet, but to no avail; they were frozen over and she didn't have the strength to free them.</p><p>She returned to her hanging position and saw her lightsaber sitting in a pile of snow nearby. Calmly, she closed her eyes and remembered the lessons Taiyang had taught her in the brief time he had been her master. Calming her mind and body, she reached out with the Force, willing the weapon to come to her outstretched hand. It jiggled for an instance but did not move.</p><p>The beast must have seen that she had woken up, for it stood and began to move toward her.</p><p>The lightsaber shifted in the snow once, twice- and then shot into her hand. In one fluid motion, her hand grasped the handle and thumbed the activation button. The blue blade came to life and she swiftly used it to free herself from the ice, falling to the floor almost on her feet. Looking up, she saw the monster was nearly upon her. She quickly stood up and with a flick of her wrist, she sliced the beast's arm from its body. The beast howled in pain, giving Ruby the perfect chance to make her mad dash for freedom.</p><p>The good news was that the cave was very linear, just one long tunnel with one entrance. The bad news was that a snow storm had kicked up while she was out. The second she emerged from the cave, she was buffeted by icy winds and snow coming her at ridiculous speeds. She deactivated her lightsaber and clipped it to her belt seconds before tumbling down a hill, though she quickly picked herself up and put as much distance as she could between her and that monster's lair.</p><p>Meanwhile, Yang continued her search for her missing friend, wandering aimlessly through the icy wastes on the back of her commandeered tauntaun. She had brought scanning equipment with her, and she would often stop to check it, but the longer she stayed outside, the worse the storm got, and thusly the less of a signal she would get.</p><p>Back at the base, Penny was using her own built-in scanner to search for her missing master.</p><p>"Come along now, P3." Ren said as he walked up to her, "There's really nothing more we can do. And my joints are freezing up." Penny beeped something in response. "Don't say things like that! Of course we'll see Mistress Ruby again. And she'll be quite alright, you'll see!" he began muttering to himself as he walked off. Of course Mistress Ruby would be alright. She was the strongest human he had ever met.</p><p>Ruby collapsed into the snow. She had been walking for hours. Normally, that wouldn't have been a problem, since growing up on a desert planet her entire life had built up her natural endurance. But she figured she could be forgiven seeing how she had been attacked but an ice monster, dragged to its lair and then nearly eaten by said monster. She willed herself back to her feet and managed to shakily walk another few feet, before she collapsed face-first back into the snow.</p><p>At the base, an officer ran up to his superior in the hangar bay.</p><p>"Sir, all the patrols are in. Still no- " he looked over to Weiss listening in, and quickly lowered his voice. "Still no word from Rose or Xiao Long."</p><p>"Mistress Weiss," Ren said as he walked up to her, "P3 says that she has been unable to pick up any signals, although she does admit that her own range is far too weak to abandon all hope."</p><p>"Princess," The Ranking officer said as he and his subordinate joined the white-haired girl and the green-plated droid, "There's nothing more we can do tonight. The shield doors <em>must </em>be closed."</p><p>Weiss closed her eyes in defeat and nodded the unspoken order. The officer gave the order as Blake walked up, close to tears herself.</p><p>Penny beeped nearby. "P3 says the chances of survival are 725 to 1." Ren translated.</p><p>The great metal doors groaned as they came together with a loud clang. Blake roared in grief as she fought to keep the tears in her.</p><p>"Of course, P3 has been known to make mistakes." Ren said in an attempt to be helpful, "From time to time."</p><p>Weiss nodded as she walked up to Blake and pulled her into a hug. Ren walked up next to Penny and placed a hand on her dome. "Don't worry about Mistress Ruby. I'm sure she'll be alright. She's quite clever, you know, for a human being."</p><p>In the tundra, Ruby lay where she had fallen, giving up on getting back to base, much less surviving for much longer out here. That was, until her heard a voice call out to her.</p><p>"Ruby." It said to her. "Ruby." She felt like she remembered it from somewhere, making her raise her head up. At the crest of a nearby hill, she saw his spectral form, clad in his robes and with the hood drawn up onto his head.</p><p>"Ben?" she said confused. Taiyang was supposed to be dead.</p><p>"You will go to the Dagobah system." He told her.</p><p>"Dagobah system?"</p><p>"There you will learn from Ozma, the Jedi Master who instructed me."</p><p>"Ben! Ruby croaked out, reaching out for his hand, but his form disappeared as she once again lost consciousness. By a stroke of luck, she was fund by Yang to ten seconds later.</p><p>"Ruby!" Yang cried out as she dismounted and tried to run for her friend. The snow was deep, so she was clumsy at best, but she quickly made it and flipped Ruby over. "Don't do this, Ruby. Come on, gimme a sign here." She went to check Ruby's pulse when she heard a pained braying behind her and turned just in time to see her mount collapse into the snow and let out a death rattle. Cursing to herself, Yang grabbed Ruby's wrists and pulled the girl over to the still warm corpse of her mount. Wasting no time and ignoring Ruby's delirious mutterings, Yang used the lightsaber to cut open the beast's belly.</p><p>"Sorry, Rubes." Yang said as she pushing the girl into the opening, "This isn't gonna smell great, but it'll keep you warm until I get the shelter up." With her friend safely inside the belly of the beast, Yang took time for a quick breather. "Damn. And I here thought they smelled bad on the outside."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>By the next morning, the storm had cleared, leaving rolling hills of fresh snow in its wake. The beauty of it all was quickly ruined by a squadron of four snow speeders cresting one of the hills before breaking off from each other in search of Ruby and Yang.</p><p>"Echo Base, I've got something." One of the pilots said over the radio, "Not much, but it could be a lifeform." He followed the signal further from the base, keeping his eyes and his ears open for any sign of life. "Commander Rose, do you copy? This is Rogue Two. Repeat, this is Rogue Two. Captain Xiao Long, do you copy?" he crested another hill before trying his broadcast again.</p><p>"Good morning. Nice of you guys to drop by." Yang said over the radio, making the pilot smile at her sarcasm.</p><p>"Echo Base, this is Rogue Two. I found them. Repeat, I found them." He said. Yang waved as his speeder buzzed the shelter she had managed to erect.</p><p>Ruby was quickly returned to base where she was rushed to emergency treatment for her injuries and a case of hypothermia. Instead of any kind of surgery, she was loaded into a fluid tank for several hours, the contents of which greatly accelerated her healing. She was woken a day later, the only signs of her trouble being a few scars on her cheek and the sunken state of her eyes, though the doctor said she simply needed some rest and a decent meal to fix the latter.</p><p>"Mistress Ruby, it's so good to see you fully functioning again." Ren said happily when he, Penny, Weiss, Yang and Blake came to see her in recovery.</p><p>Ruby smiled weakly. "Thanks Ren."</p><p>Penny beeped and squealed happily. "P3 expresses her relief also."</p><p>"How ya feelin', kid?" Yang asked as she entered the room. "You don't look so bad to me. Hell, you look like you could pull the ears off a gundark."</p><p>"Thanks to you."</p><p>"That's two you owe me, Red." She joked before turning to face Weiss. "Well, Your Worship, looks like you managed to keep me around for a while longer."</p><p>"I had nothing to do with it." Weiss insisted. "General Rieekan thinks it's dangerous for any ships to leave the system until we've activated the energy field."</p><p>"That's a good story." Yang conceded. "I think you just couldn't stand to let a beautiful gal like me out of your sight." Behind her, Ruby and Blake rolled their eyes simultaneously.</p><p>Weiss shook her head in exasperation, but didn't break eye contact. "I don't know where you get your delusions, Laser Brain."</p><p>Behind her, Blake failed to suppress a snicker at Yang's expense.</p><p>"Laugh it up, fuzzball." She said quietly, shooting a glare at Blake before walking over to Weiss, "But you didn't see us alone in the south passage, where she expressed her true feelings for me."</p><p>"My- " Weiss looked up at her and Yang immediately backed off. "Why you stuck-up, half-witted, scruffy-looking nerf herder!"</p><p>"Who's scruffy looking?" Yang retorted, "Must have hit pretty close to the mark to get her that riled up, eh, Rubes?"</p><p>Weiss grinned viciously. "Well, I guess you don't know everything about women yet, do you?" she walked up to Ruby, grabbed her cheeks and pulled her into a kiss that was between chaste and deep. She heard her name called for over the intercom, and left with a victorious smile. Ruby blinked a couple times to see if that had just happened before leaning back, her hands behind her head and a pleased smile on her face.</p><p>Yang clicked her tongue, trying to keep her temper in check. "Take it easy." She told Ruby before she left with Blake in tow.</p><p>Weiss arrived at the command center to find several officers huddling around a single work station.</p><p>"Princess, we have a visitor." The General told her as Yang entered behind her. "Picked up something outside the base's perimeter moving east."</p><p>"It's metal." The operator added.</p><p>"Then it couldn't be one of those creatures." Weiss reasoned.</p><p>"Could be a speeder, one of ours." Yang suggested.</p><p>"No- wait." The operator said, pressing his earpiece into his ear so he could hear better. "There's something very weak coming through." He flipped a switch on his console so that everyone else could hear it too. There was a lot of static, but they could still make out some kind of speech pattern in it.</p><p>"Ma'am," Ren said, getting their attention, "I am fluent in six million forms of communication. This signal is not used by the Alliance. It could be an Imperial code."</p><p>The operator managed to clear up the static so that the signal was coming through clearly.</p><p>Yang frowned. "Well, whatever it is, it doesn't sound friendly. Blake, let's go check it out."</p><p>"Send Rogues 10 and 11 to station 38." The General ordered as the two left.</p><p>Outside, it was revealed that the source of the code was the droid that had landed a few days previously. Its message sent, it retracted its' antennae and floated off.</p><p>About half an hour later, Yang rose from her hiding place and got a good look at the droid as it passed between a pair of rocky outcrops. Blake rose from her own hiding place, her hair covered in snow, and yelled at the droid. It let out an alarm and began firing at Blake, or rather her position, since Blake had ducked back down. Yang took her chance and fired at the droid with her blaster pistol. She landed one hit before ducking back into cover. She heard a pair of blaster bolts fire over her head, jumped back up, landed another hit when suddenly the droid exploded.</p><p>Blake rose from her hiding place when heard the explosion. "What? Was that it?" she said. Yang could only frown.</p><p>"Afraid there's not much left." Yang said as she reported in to command.</p><p>"What was it?" Weiss asked.</p><p>"Droid of some kind." Yang answered, professional enough to put aside what had happened earlier with Ruby. "I didn't hit it that hard, it must have had a self-destruct."</p><p>Weiss didn't even argue, since the bits of information they had fit perfectly in her head. "An Imperial probe droid." She said.</p><p>"Shit. It's a good bet the Empire knows we're here, then."</p><p>"We'd better start the evacuation." The General decided, Weiss nodding her agreement.</p><p>In the void, a fleet of Star Destroyers hung in a loose formation, TIE fighters flying patrols among them. They were all of them cast in shadow by the absolute behemoth that was their flagship, and the personal ship of Darth Vader herself. Said Dark Lady was currently standing on the bridge, observing the fleet and waiting for any scrap of information to come their way as to the location of her young target.</p><p>A pair of officers walked onto the bridge and one, an admiral, was immediately called down.</p><p>"Yes, Captain?" he asked the dark-skinned young woman before him.</p><p>"I think we've got something, sir." Ilia reported. "The report is a fragment from a probe droid in the Hoth system, but it's the best lead we've had."</p><p>The admiral looked unimpressed. "We have thousands of probe droids searching the galaxy. I want proof, not leads."</p><p>"The visuals indicate life readings." Ilia told him.</p><p>"It could mean anything." The admiral said dismissively, "If we followed up on every lead- "</p><p>"But, sir, the Hoth system is supposed to be devoid of civilized life." Ilia protested.</p><p>"You've found something?" Vader said, startling the officers with how someone so large could be so stealthy.</p><p>"Yes, my lady." Ilia said, showing her the report. It was an image of a series of half-circular objects jetting out from the snow and giving off strange heat and energy signatures.</p><p>"That's it." Vader said. "The rebels are there."</p><p>The admiral was still unconvinced. "My lady," he said diplomatically, "There are so many uncharted settlements. It could be smugglers, it could be- "</p><p>"That is the system." Vader shut him down, "And I'm sure Rose is with them. Set your course for the Hoth system. General Veers," she turned to a man in a matching uniform in dark green, "Prepare your men." Vader walked off with General Veers close behind. The admiral made to follow, but not without giving Ilia a hard glare first, which she easily shook off.</p><p>Back at the base, Yang and Blake were continuing their repairs to the <em>Falcon.</em> This time, Yang was on the ship with a soldering tool, while Blake was in the cockpit.</p><p>"Alright." Yang called to her first mate as she finished working, "Give it a try." Blake flipped a few switches only resulting in a small explosion and the ship to catch fire in Yang's face. The blonde yelled at her to turn the ship off and Blake howled in frustration.</p><p>Meanwhile, a fully healed Ruby was getting into her orange flight suit and talking to one of the droids that had taken care of her in the bacta tank.</p><p>"Ma'am, it will take some time to evacuate the T-47s." the droid told her.</p><p>"Ah, skip the heavy equipment." She told it, "There's plenty of time to get the smaller modules on the transports."</p><p>"Take care, Ma'am."</p><p>"Thanks.</p><p>Ruby passed by the <em>Falcon </em>on her way to the speeders, now in full gear and her helmet under one arm.</p><p>"Hey, Blake?" she said to the much taller girl, who looked down at her. "Take care of yourself, ok?" she reached up and scratched the cat girls' head between her ears. She made to leave but was pulled into a hug by Blake.</p><p>"You forgot the customary hug, Short stack." Blake joked.</p><p>"Sorry, sorry." She chuckled.</p><p>"Hey kid." Yang said before turning back to a droid who was helping with the ship. "There's gotta be some reason for it. Check it at the other end." The droid squeaked an affirmative. "Wait a second." The droid squeaked again in frustration. "You alright?"</p><p>Ruby saw the genuine concern in Yang's eyes. "Yeah." She replied honestly. They stared at each other in a silent conversation for a moment before Yang broke the silence.</p><p>"Be careful." She said.</p><p>Ruby grinned. "You too."</p><p>"General, there's a fleet of Star Destroyers coming out of hyperspace in sector four." An operator in the control room called out.</p><p>"Reroute all power to the energy shield." He told the man before turning to his second in command. "We gotta hold them until all transports are away. Prepare for ground assault."</p><p>Nearly a dozen Star Destroyers closed in on Hoth, with their massive flagship in the lead. Within, Vader sat cross-legged in a meditation pod, which opened when she felt someone entering her chambers, revealed to be General Veers.</p><p>"What is it, General?" she asked, somewhat miffed at being disturbed.</p><p>"My lady, the fleet has moved out of lightspeed. ComScan has detected an energy field protecting an area of the sixth planet of the Hoth system. It is strong enough to withstand any bombardment."</p><p>"The Rebels are alerted to our presence." Vader realized. She could feel her anger growing. "Admiral Ozzel came out of light speed too close to the system."</p><p>The General hesitated for a moment. "He- he felt surprise was wiser."</p><p>"He is as clumsy as he is stupid." Vader said, her anger showing only briefly before she reined it in. Veers was not the object of her ire. No need to take it out on him. "General, prepare your troops for a surface attack."</p><p>"Yes my lady." He replied, relieved that he was leaving with his life. He had heard stories about how Vader treated failures under her command.</p><p>The chair Vader sat in turned around in place to face the video screen behind her meditation pod and contacted the bridge of her ship. The screen filled with static until the faces of Admiral Ozzel and Ilia appeared.</p><p>"Lady Vader." Ozzel said, stepping up to make his report. "The fleet has moved out of light speed, and we're preparing to- " he immediately cut off when he felt his windpipe being crushed.</p><p>"You have failed me for the <em>last time</em>, Admiral." Vader said through grit teeth. She kept up her hold on the man's throat, slowly increasing the pressure. "Captain Amitola."</p><p>"Yes, my lady?" Ilia said, snapping to attention next to her dying superior.</p><p>"Make ready to land our troops beyond their energy field, and deploy the fleet so that nothing gets off the system. You are in command now, <em>Admiral</em> Amitola." The last was said as Ozzel collapsed behind Ilia, dead by Force Choke.</p><p>"Thank you, Lady Vader." She said, trying her best to maintain composure.</p><p>As the base was readying for the assault, Weiss was briefing a group of pilots on the evacuation plan. She paced in the crook of an X-Wing's wing with the pilots gathered around her in a growing semi-circle.</p><p>"All troop carriers will assemble at the north entrance." She told them, "The heavy transport ships will leave as soon as they're loaded. Only two fighter escorts per ship. The energy field can only be opened for a short period, so you'll have to stick close to your transports."</p><p>"Two fighters against a Star Destroyer?" one of the pilots asked in disbelief.</p><p>Weiss took the interruption in stride, knowing that would be their reaction. "The ion cannon will fire several shots to ensure any enemy ships will be out of your path." She assured them, seeing the doubt lift from their faces somewhat. "Once you've gotten past the energy shield, proceed straight to the rendezvous point. Understood?" Affirmatives sounded off around her. "Good luck."</p><p>A nearby NCO clapped his hands together. "Ok. Everybody, to your stations. Let's go!"</p><p>About a mile outside the base, the ground forces were putting what finishing touches they could on their make-shift fortifications, which mostly consisted of trenches in the snow with scattered heavy weapon emplacements and the odd artillery piece up and down the line. Against any force like them, they would stand a good chance, but they weren't dealing with an equivalent force. They were dealing with the Empire, a vastly superior force in all respects. They knew the best they could do was delay for as long as possible.</p><p>No one wanted to say it, but they had signed up for a suicide mission. </p>
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<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The situation in the command center was tense. Everyone remained silent, all eyes on the General and Weiss stood in the center of the room.<br/>"Their primary target will be the power generators." The General said, "Prepare to open shield."<br/>A larger space cruiser shot up from the planet, escorted by a pair of X-Wings as per the plan, while a Star Destroyer moved into intercept position.<br/>"Sir, rebel ships are coming into our sector." A junior officer on the ship told his captain.<br/>"Good. Our first catch of the day." The captain replied firmly.<br/>"Stand by, ion control." The operator sat before Leia and the General said before pausing. "Fire."<br/>Outside the base, a massive round structure built into the side of the ice shelf fired several red bolts from the cannon sticking out of it. The bolts rocketed past the transport convoy directly at the Star Destroyer. The first bolt hit them amidships, while the second impacted on the bridge. The Star Destroyer began to list downward at the back as its engines died out, red electricity crackling over its surface as the convoy breezed past them.<br/>"The first transport is away." A voice said over the intercom, filling the hangar bay with cheers.<br/>Ruby cheered internally as she climbed into her speeder. So far so good. Just a few more times and they would be golden.<br/>"Feeling alright, ma'am?" her silver-haired co-plot asked as she took the seat behind him.<br/>"Just like new, Merc." Ruby said, "How about you?"<br/>"Heh. Right now I feel like I could take on the whole Empire myself."<br/>"I know what you mean." Ruby chuckled as the ship began to hover and the canopy closed.<br/>Out on the line, the soldiers ran to position with their weapons trained on the loud stomping sounds they heard in the distance. An officer looked into his macrobinoculars only to see a squat metal foot. he followed up the long metal pillar attached to it to meet a rectangular face with cannons on either side. Zooming back somewhat, he saw that it had a few friends with it.<br/>"Echo Station, 3-T-8." He said into his communicator, "We've spotted Imperial walkers. Repeat, Imperial walkers on the north ridge."<br/>As the speeders exited the hangar as quickly as safely possible, the men and women in the trenches took cover as the walkers began firing on their positions. As they began returning fire, they felt the speeders fly overhead, Ruby at their head.<br/>"All right, boys, keep it tight now." Ruby said.<br/>"Ruby, I have no approach vector." Mercury said angrily as he quickly tried to correct his aim, "I'm not set."<br/>"Easy, Merc. Set up for Attack Pattern Delta." She led the speeders past the walkers and swung around to the right. "All right, we're going in." She dived at the walker high from the side and flew between its legs, blasters firing the whole time.<br/>The walkers marched on, ignoring the fire they were taking from the speeders. The men in the trenches tried to return fire, but it was difficult with the amount of fire they were taking from the walkers. The damn things were essentially mobile, fully-automatic artillery. From the bridge of the lead walker, General Veers watched the battle unfold.<br/>"That armor's too strong for blasters." Ruby cursed after another failed fire run. She decided it was time to get creative. "Rogue Group, use your harpoons and tow cables. Go for the legs, it might be the only way we can stop 'em." She threw her speeder to the deck and lined herself up to enact her plan. "Mercury, stand by."<br/>"Shit! Ruby, we've got a problem in fire control. Break off while I cut in the auxilliary."<br/>"Too late! Get that tow cable ready." No sooner had she said so did the speeder get rocked by a blaster bolt going off near them and Ruby heard a small explosion behind her. "Merc? Mercury!" she received no answer. Mercury was dead. Her face darkened in anger.<br/>On the ground, the walkers continued their advance while increasing their suppressing fire on the trenches. They had taken out many static artillery pieces and were nearly halfway to the base when Vader contacted them.<br/>"Yes, Lady Vader." General Veers said confidently. "I've reached the main power generators. The shield will be down in moments, you may start your landing."<br/>Meanwhile, Ruby was setting up for another run on her plan. She looked over her left wing and saw a familiar face.<br/>"Rogue Three." She called out.<br/>"Copy, Rogue Leader." Jaune said.<br/>"Jaune, I've lost my gunner. You'll have to make the shot. I'll cover you. Set your harpoon and follow me on the next pass." Taking the lead, Ruby lead Jaune on the same approach she had taken, keeping low to the ground and coming up under the walker.<br/>"Fire!" Ruby called out.<br/>The magnetic harpoon shot out from the speeder's rear gun and attached to one of the walker's back legs.<br/>"Good shot, Nikos!" Jaune said as he brought the speeder into a hard turn. He circled the walker a few times, letting out more and more cable each time.<br/>"Cable out, let her go!" Pyrrha the Gunner shouted behind him.<br/>"Cable detached." Jaune confirmed.<br/>The walker tried to take another step but got caught up in the seven rings of high-strength cable wrapped around it. it physically tripped and fell forward onto it's face like a trapped animal. The rebels cheered as a pair of speeders flew at the incapacitated walker and blew up the head, which caused the whole thing to explode.<br/>"Ho-ah!" Jaune cheered, giving Pyrrha a fist-bump over his shoulder. "Splash one for Arkos!"<br/>"Nice work, Jaune." Ruby agreed.<br/>In the command center, the General and Weiss were in the middle of a debate.<br/>"I don't think we can protect two transports at a time." The General argued.<br/>"It's risky," Weiss agreed, "But we can't hold out much longer." An explosion rocked the base, making ice fall from the ceiling of the room. "We have no choice."<br/>The General nodded grimly. "Do it."<br/>"Evacuate remaining ground staff." Weiss ordered.<br/>Meanwhile, Yang and Blake were still working on the Falcon.<br/>"Dammit all! Yang!" Blake called out.<br/>"I told you!" Yang said, walking over to where Blake was working. "This one goes there. That one goes there. Right?"<br/>"Fucking stupid- "<br/>"Beat yourself up later. Focus!"<br/>Ren walked up alongside Ruby's X-Wing as Penny was being loaded into it.<br/>"P3, you take good care of Mistress Ruby now, understand?" he said. "And, try to take care of yourself too."<br/>Back at the front, the walkers continued their advance. However, they continued to concentrate their fire on the artillery pieces, destroying them one at a time and taking their time in doing so.<br/>"All troops will debark for ground assault." General Veers told one of the soldiers he was carrying, before turning back to the battle. "Prepare to target the main generator."<br/>Ruby brought her speeder alongside another in preparation for another pass.<br/>"Rogue Two, are you alright?" she called.<br/>"Yeah." Replied the pilot who had found her and Yang. "I'm with you Rogue Leader."<br/>"Set your harpoon. I'll cover for you." Ruby ordered, taking the lead position in the formation.<br/>"Coming around." Rogue Two said as they made their approach.<br/>"Watch that crossfire, guys." She could see the Walkers growing larger when she heard Rogue Two scream over the radio as his speeder exploded next to her. Her own speeder soon rocked as she too was hit with a glancing blow. She tried to pull up, but found that she has lost most of her control. Knowing that the only ending was a crash landing, she fought with the controls to make it one she could walk away from. She managed to land her speeder face first in the snow behind the lead walker.<br/>She let out a sigh as she shook her head clear, unhooked her harness and struggled to get the canopy up, but in doing so, she saw the other walker was on a direct course for her ship. She tried to get Mercury out, but his buckle had fused together, making it impossible to undo. The walker came closer, the massive legs covering the ground quicker than she expected. Thinking desperately more so than quickly, she grabbed her lightsaber and a strange gun before she leapt from the wreckage of her speeder as the walker's foot came down on it, crushing it and Mercury beneath it's tread.<br/>Back at the base, Yang ran through the corridors to the command center, doing her best to stay upright as the base was rocked by Imperial fire. The command center was an abandoned mess; strategic maps overturned and the staff evacuated but for a single station and operator, over whose shoulder Weiss was watching.<br/>"You alright?" Yang asked.<br/>Weiss looked back and frowned. "Why are you still here?"<br/>"Heard the command center had been hit." Yang replied as she began climbing over debris to reach Weiss, who had returned to what she had been doing.<br/>"You've got your clearance to leave."<br/>"Don't worry, I'll leave. First, I'm gonna get you to your ship."<br/>"Your Highness, we must take this last transport. It's our only hope." Ren pleaded with her. Weiss responded by pushing past him and Yang and walking over to another station.<br/>"Send all troops in Sector 12 to the south slope to protect the fighters." She said.<br/>Suddenly another explosion sent snow falling from the ceiling and a voice came over the intercom.<br/>"Imperial troops have entered the base. Imperial troops have entered- " it cut off before it could finish.<br/>Yang walked up to Weiss and grabbed her arm. "Come on. That's it." she said, giving Weiss a hard look. The white-haired princess closed her eyes.<br/>"Give the evacuation code signal." She ordered before Yang began pulling her away. "And get to your transport!"<br/>The battlefield, despite being made of snow and ice, was charred and burning in places, most of them ruined artillery pieces. The troops had received the retreat signal and were doing just that, abandoning their trenches as the walkers came within spitting distance. The walkers, seeing the rout, fired on the fleeing troops. Using the confusion as cover, Ruby ran up underneath the last walker and aimed her gun at the transport's belly.<br/>Instead of a laser bolt, it fired a magnetic grappling hook. It attached itself to the hull and pulled her up to hang just under the surface.<br/>Using her lightsaber, she opened a hatch a hatch and tossed in a small thermal grenade. She had five seconds until it exploded, so she quickly detached herself from the grappling hook and fell, the snow thankfully breaking her fall. She looked up and saw the walker stop as her grenade caused a cascade of explosions to rock the transport, ultimately causing the cockpit to explode and the whole thing to fall sideways.<br/>The lead walker saw none of this, its commander focused entirely on his objective. He watched as the fleeing troops were cut down like wheat, the transport even shooting a speeder out of the air during a brief pause it it's advance. He pulled down a targeting computer and looked through it to see the highlighted outline of the generators. He gave the order and the generators exploded in a massive ball of fire.<br/>This caused the hallway Yang and Weiss were in to collapse. Yang saw it coming and quickly pulled Weiss back. The princess let out a scream as the pair fell backward. Yang recovered quicker and took a look at the wall before cursing and pulling out her communicator.<br/>"Transport, this is Xiao Long. Better take off, we can't get to you. I'll get the princess out on the Falcon." She grabbed Weiss arm and pulled her to her feet, before taking off again. They passed by Ren, who quickly turned and ran after them, yelling to be told what they were doing.<br/>Meanwhile, the wall of the command center burst open as a team of snowtroopers stormed in, followed by the imposing figure of Darth Vader. The Dark Lady took in the damage before leading her troops to their next target, the hangar.<br/>"Wait! Wait for me!" Ren yelled as Yang ran to a door, opening it for Weiss and following after her, leaving Ren on the other side. "How typical." He drawled as the door opened and Yang's arm reached out to pull him through.<br/>"Come on! We're good to go!" Blake yelled as the pair and robot ran into the hangar.<br/>"Hurry up, Spearmint!" Yang yelled at Ren, "Or you're gonna become a permanent resident!"<br/>As Vader closed in with her troops, Yang and Blake tried to run, but the engine on the Falcon refused to turn over. Inside, Blake screamed as she was pelted with vented steam.<br/>"How's this?" Yang told her, making some adjustments.<br/>"Would it help if I got out and pushed?" Weiss asked snidely.<br/>Yang rounded on her. "It might." She replied. It would allow her to ditch the dead weight if nothing else.<br/>"Ma'am, might I suggest you- " Ren said before Yang held a finger up, silencing him. "It can wait."<br/>Yang ran to the cockpit and began the activation sequence. The ship initially started powering down, but Yang soon fixed that with a solid blow with her forearm.<br/>"This bucket of bolts is never gonna get us past that blockade." Weiss said, her, Ren and Blake joining Yang.<br/>"This baby's got a few surprises left in her, sweetheart." Yang replied.<br/>Outside, the snowtroopers began setting up the laser equivalent of a heavy machine gun turret. In response, Yang flipped a switch and a hidden gun dropped down and began firing on the turret.<br/>"Blake, switch over. Let's just hope we don't have a burnout." They heard the familiar sound of the ship powering up, and Yang smiled. "See?"<br/>"Someday your gonna be wrong," Weiss said, sitting behind Yang, "And I just hope I'm there to see it."<br/>"Punch it!" Yang ordered. Blake pulled the switch and the Falcon made a fast exit just as Vader entered the hangar.<br/>Ruby saw them leave as she made her way to the evacuation point and saw Penny waiting for her in her X-Wing.<br/>"Penny! Get her ready for takeoff." Penny beeped and whistled as Ruby climbed into the cockpit. "Don't worry, Penny. We're going. We're going." Ruby pulled them into the void expecting to have to run an Imperial blockade, but found that the fleet had already left. Counting herself lucky -again- she veered off the route Penny expected her to take, making her beep in confusion.<br/>"Nothing's wrong, Penny. I'm just setting a new course." She told Penny, seeing the translation on her screen. More beeping. "We're not gonna regroup with the others. We're going to the Dagobah system." A whistle and some bleeping. "That's alright. I'd rather keep her on manual controls for a while."</p>
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<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>As Ruby flew off into the void, Yang was having a decidedly harder time of things. At the moment, the <em>Falcon </em>was being chased by a Star Destroyer. They had managed to get out of range of the big guns, so the Destroyer scrambled a squad of TIE Fighters to chase them down.</p><p>"Shit!" Blake yelled as the ship was rocked by more laser fire.</p><p>"I saw 'em! I saw 'em!" Yang yelled, sweat dotting her brow.</p><p>"Saw what?" Weiss asked.</p><p>"Star Destroyers." Yang pointed straight ahead. "Two of 'em, headed right for us."</p><p>"Captain!" Ren said, walking into the cockpit, "Might I suggest- "</p><p>"Shut him up or shut him down! Blake, check the shields."</p><p>"We can't take another hit like that." She told them.</p><p>"Fantastic. Well, we can still outmaneuver them." Yang pulled another lever on the console and sent the <em>Falcon </em>into a dive right as the Star Destroyers got close. The fighters managed to follow, but the Destroyers were too slow to match them, and two of them collided with one another.</p><p>"Prepare to make the jump to light speed." Yang said as the <em>Falcon</em> leveled out.</p><p>"On it." Blake replied.</p><p>"Captain, I really think you need to hear this."</p><p>"They're getting closer." Weiss stated the obvious.</p><p>"Oh yeah? Watch this." Yang said as she pulled the lever to make the jump-</p><p>Only for the ship to make noises I'm fairly sure it shouldn't make when trying to make the jump to light speed.</p><p>"Watch what?" Weiss said.</p><p>"I think we're in trouble." Yang muttered.</p><p>"As I was saying earlier, Captain, I noticed that the hyperdrive motivator has been damaged. It's impossible to go to light speed." Ren informed them.</p><p>"Definitely in trouble." Yang said as she climbed out of the cockpit.</p><p>Weiss took over piloting as best she could while Yang and Blake worked on the ship.</p><p>"I don't know how we're gonna get out of this one." Yang said to Blake as she took a tool from a tool box and climbed underneath the floor. The ship was rocked yet again, causing the tool box to fall on Yang. "OW! Blake!"</p><p>"It wasn't me."</p><p>Yang stood up out of the hole just as the ship jolted again. "That wasn't a laser blast, something hit us."</p><p>"Yang, get up here!" Weiss called. "Asteroids."</p><p>"There's an idea." Yang said as she took her seat. "Blake, set 2-7-1."</p><p>"What are you doing?" Weiss said incredulously. "You're not actually going <em>into </em>asteroid field?"</p><p>"They'd be crazy to follow us, wouldn't they?"</p><p>"You don't have to do this just to impress me." Weiss said, flinching every time they came close to imminent death, which was constantly.</p><p>"Ma'am, the possibility of successfully navigating an asteroid field is approximately 3,720 to 1!" Ren nearly wailed.</p><p>"Never tell me the odds!" Yang told him.</p><p>The <em>Falcon</em> nimbly flew through the field, dodging asteroids left and right, but the fighters were just as capable. Though maybe not as capable as they thought, since one of them pretty much flew directly into an asteroid. Another one was clipped by a smaller asteroid and sent into a spin before it blew up on it's own.</p><p>"You said you wanted to be around when I made a mistake?" Yang said, "This is could be your chance, sweetheart."</p><p>"I take it back." Weiss said, "We're gonna get pulverized if we stay out her much longer."</p><p>"Agreed. I'm gonna get us closer to one of the big ones."</p><p>"Closer!?" Ren and Weiss said together as Yang aimed for a massive asteroid.</p><p>Dodging fire from the two remaining fighters, she went to the deck and found a channel between a pair of craters. The fighters followed her in, but then the <em>Falcon</em> went thin, turning sideways when the passage began to thin out. The fighters couldn't do anything except crash together, allowing our heroes to make their escape.</p><p>"This is suicide." Ren said, "There's nowhere to go."</p><p>"How about there?" Yang said, pointing down in front of them. "That looks good."</p><p>"What looks good?" Weiss stood up so she could see.</p><p>"Looks good to me." Blake said, seeing what Yang had in mind.</p><p>The <em>Falcon</em> looped backwards and dove straight into a deep hole within another crater.</p><p>"I hope you know what you're doing." Weiss said.</p><p>"Yeah, me too." Yang agreed.</p><p>Light years away, Ruby came out of light speed over a world shrouded in clouds.</p><p>"Yup, that's it. Dagobah." Penny beeped behind her. "No, Penny, I'm not gonna change my mind on this. I'm not picking up any cities or technology. Massive life-form readings, though. There's something alive down there." Questioning beeps. "Yes, I'm sure it's perfectly safe for droids."</p><p>Ruby descended into the clouds and was immediately rocked by turbulence. Penny beeped and whistled in alarm. "I know! I know! All the scopes are dead. I can't see a thing. Just hang on, I'm gonna start the landing cycle."</p><p>About a minute later, Ruby saw the branches of trees pelting the canopy mere seconds before her ship crash landed in what she hoped was a shallow pond. Opening the canopy revealed that she had in fact landed in a massive swamp, the only consolation being that she landed close to the shore. She frustratedly took off her gloves and threw them at the floor. She flipped some switches that would release Penny, then climbed out of the cockpit of her ship.</p><p>The place was the exact opposite of Hoth and Tatooine. Where both were barren wastelands, this place was teeming with trees, wild animals and other forms of life. Where one was frigid cold, and the other obscenely hot, this place was oppressively warm and muggy. She could feel the sweat building up already.</p><p>Penny beeped behind her. "No, Penny, you stay there. I'll take a look around." Suddenly, the ship rocked in the water. Ruby nearly lost her balance, but Penny was thrown into the muck.</p><p>"Penny!" Ruby called out, trying to spot her mechanical friend in the water, "Where are you?" Her worry disappeared when a periscope topped by a piece of green metal popped up out of the water. Ruby sighed heavily, hanging her head before fixing Penny with a stern look. "You be more careful, ya hear?" Penny whistled innocently. "Penny? That way." She pointed at the shore line.</p><p>Shaking her head, Ruby tossed her helmet into the pilot's seat. She jumped into the water, prepared for potentially cold water, but not for how deep it was. It nearly reached up to her chin before she was able to pull herself out of the water. She looked back at Penny, only to see her periscope pulled underwater, followed by the fin of some aquatic creature.</p><p>"Penny!" she cried, pulling her blaster pistol. She scanned the water for any sign to the creature, but saw nothing, the water still and murky. Suddenly, Penny was launched bodily out of the water with a scream and landed hard against some trees.</p><p>"Oh man." Ruby said, when she found the small astro droid essentially face down in the dirt. "Let's get you up. You were lucky to make it out in one piece." With no small amount of effort, Ruby managed to get Penny on her metaphorical feet. "Anything broken?" Penny shook her dome. "Ho man. You were saying coming here was a bad idea. I'm beginning to think you were right. Ah, Penny, what are we even doing here? It's like, something out of a dream or… maybe I'm just going crazy."</p><p>At the Imperial fleet, within the heart of the flagship, Ilia walked into Vader's chambers to find the Dark Lady's meditation pod partially open. She didn't see much more than pale, sickly skin before it was covered by the Lady's signature helmet. She quickly came to attention as Vader turned around and her pod opened fully.</p><p>"What is it, Admiral?" she asked.</p><p>"Our ships have sighted the <em>Millennium Falcon,</em> my lady." Ilia reported, "However, it has entered an asteroid field and we cannot risk- "</p><p>"Asteroids do not concern me, Admiral." Vader interrupted. "I want that ship, not excuses."</p><p>"Yes, Lady." Ilia bowed her head as Vader's pod closed.</p><p>Back with the <em>Falcon,</em> Yang walked onto the bridge to see Weiss helping Blake with one of the ship's systems, her hands smaller than Blake's and thus more adept for the task, and Ren standing next to them.</p><p>"I'm gonna shut down everything but the emergency power systems." She informed them.</p><p>"I'm afraid to ask, Captain, but does that include me as well?" Ren asked.</p><p>"Course not." Yang said, reassuringly, "Need you to talk to the <em>Falcon. </em>See what's wrong with the hyperdrive."</p><p>Suddenly, the entire ship rocked from side to side.</p><p>"Captain," Ren said, "It's quite possible that this asteroid isn't entirely stable."</p><p>"Not entirely stable?" Yang said sarcastically, "Well, color me glad we've got you here to explain these things. Blake, take the professor into the back and plug him into the hyperdrive."</p><p>"If it gets him to shut up, sure thing." Blake grunted.</p><p>As Blake and Ren left, the ship was rocked again, harder. Yang fell backwards into a chair and Weiss was thrown into her lap.</p><p>"Let go." Weiss said, but Yang shushed her, trying to get a bead on what was happening outside. "Let go, please."</p><p>"Don't get excited." Yang chided.</p><p>"Captain, being held by you isn't quite enough to get me excited."</p><p>"Sorry sweetheart." Yang pushed her back to her feet and grinned, "Haven't got time for anything else."</p><p>Meanwhile, Ruby had spent her time since crash-landing setting up a small camp for her and Penny, and off-loading what she could from her fighter using a makeshift bridge stretching from the shore to the nose of the ship. She gathered up the last of the emergency supplies and powered down the craft before heading back to the camp, built around where Penny had landed. It was by no means pretty, essentially a rough circle of crates around a small portable lantern.</p><p>"Alright, ready for some power?" she asked Penny as she laid down the supplies. Penny whistled eagerly, so Ruby plugged her into a compact generator. "Alright, now we just need to find this Ozma, if he even exists." Ruby sat down, pulled a pre-packaged meal box from her bag, and began to eat. "It's really a strange place to find a Jedi Master. This place gives me the creeps. Still, there's something familiar about this place." Penny whistled curiously. "Hard to explain. It feels like- "</p><p>"Feel like what?" a voice said behind them. Ruby whipped around, blaster drawn to see a small green being hiding behind his clothes.</p><p>"Like we're being watched." She said.</p><p>"Away put your weapon! I mean you no harm." The little being lowered his arm to reveal a diminutive green alien with a round, balding head, long pointy ears, large eyes, wrinkles everywhere, and dressed in faded tan linen clothes and clutching a walking stick. "I am wondering, why are you here?" he asked.</p><p>"I'm looking for someone." Ruby said, lowering her pistol slightly.</p><p>"Looking? Found someone you have, I would say. Hmm? Heheheh!"</p><p>"Right…"</p><p>"Help you I can. Yes! Mmm."</p><p>"I don't think so." Ruby said, putting away her blaster. The Stranger frowned. "I'm looking for a great warrior."</p><p>"Ah! Great warrior." The Stranger stood up, no more than three feet tall, and began to climb down off the tree he was sat on, "Wars not make one great." He walked over to Ruby's meal box and munched on the food she had been eating.</p><p>"Hey! That's my dinner!" Ruby pulled the box away before she lost anything else to the stranger.</p><p>"Bleh! How you get so big eating food of this kind?" he asked before climbing up onto one of the crates.</p><p>"Listen, friend, we didn't mean to land in that puddle, and if we could get our ship out, we would. But we can't, so why don't you just- "</p><p>"Aww, can't get your ship out." The Stranger mocked before rooting through one of her storage boxes, tossing out things he didn't find interesting.</p><p>"Don't do that." Ruby groaned, "You're making a mess." She turned around to see the Stranger on the ground holding a small lamp, waving it in front of his eyes. "Hey, give me that."</p><p>"Mine!" he declared, pulling it out of her immediate reach. "Or I will help you not."</p><p>"I don't want your help. I want my lamp back. I'm gonna need to get off this slimy mudhole."</p><p>"Mudhole? Slimy? My home, this is." He didn't notice Penny reaching out with a small claw until it latched onto the lamp and began to pull. What ensued was an amusing tug of war between the two. When the Stranger looked to be losing, he grabbing his stick and began whacking Penny's head with it until Ruby ordered her to give it up.</p><p>"Now will you move it along little fella? We've got a lot of work to do."</p><p>"No! No, no! Stay and help you I will. Find your friend."</p><p>"I'm not looking for a friend. I'm looking for a Jedi Master."</p><p>The Stranger's eyes widened. "Jedi Master? Ozma! You seek Ozma."</p><p>Ruby immediately got down on his level. "You know him?"</p><p>"Mmmm." He nodded. "Take you to him, I will. Heheheh! But first, we must eat. Come." Ruby stayed put, wondering if the little stranger could be trusted. He turned around and beckoned her to follow.</p><p>"Penny." She sighed. "Stay and watch over the camp."</p><p>"Where is P3 when I need her?" Ren complained. He turned to Yang. "Captain, I don't know where your ship learned to communicate, but it has the most peculiar dialect. I believe it says that the power coupling on the negative axis has been polarized." Yang walked over to see what he meant, a bundle of wire in hand. "I'm afraid you'll have to replace it."</p><p>"Of course I'll have to replace it." Yang sighed angrily. "Here." She handed to wiring to Blake, who was up in the ceiling of the common room, "And Blake."</p><p>Blake looked down at her. "Do what he said?"</p><p>"Do what he said." Yang confirmed.</p><p>"On it, boss."</p><p>Yang turned and saw Weiss finish soldering a smaller piece of machinery before putting it back together. She then attempted to move another piece below it into position, but it wasn't moving. Yang, being the good person she was, moved in behind Weiss to try and help her, only to be shoulder-checked back.</p><p>"Jeez, Your Worship, I was only trying to help."</p><p>"Would you please stop calling me that?" Weiss said through grit teeth, more angry at the part she was working on than Yang.</p><p>"Sure thing, Weiss." Yang said casually.</p><p>Weiss sighed. "You make it so difficult sometimes."</p><p>"Yeah, I do. I really do. You could be a little nicer, though. Admit it, sometimes you think I'm alright."</p><p>Weiss gave up when she felt the skin on her finger split slightly. "Occasionally." She admitted, sucking on her finger to stop the bleeding. "When you're not being a scoundrel."</p><p>Yang took Weiss' hand and began massaging it. "Scoundrel?" she grinned roguishly. "I like the sound of that."</p><p>Weiss faltered slightly, noticing how close they were. "Stop that."</p><p>"Stop what?"</p><p>Weiss nodded at her hand. "Stop that. My hands are dirty."</p><p>"My hands are dirty too. What are you afraid of?"</p><p>"Afraid?" she saw Yang leaning in.</p><p>"You're trembling."</p><p>"I'm not trembling."</p><p>Yang's voice lowered to a whisper. "You like me because I'm a scoundrel. There aren't enough scoundrels in your life."</p><p>"I like nice women too."</p><p>"I'm a nice woman."</p><p>"No you're not. You're-" Yang gently pressed their lips together, Weiss quickly accepting it, her eyes closing. The moment could have lasted forever, if not for Ren.</p><p>"Captain! Captain! I've isolated the reverse power flux coupling." He said happily, not realizing he had just blocked Yang something fierce. The blonde captain turned to him, her eyes burning red.</p><p>"Thank you. Thank you very much." She growled.</p><p>"You're perfectly welcome, ma'am." Ren said innocently.</p><p>Out of the corner of her eye, Yang could see the retreating form of Weiss headed back towards the cockpit and sighed dejectedly.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Per Vader's orders, the Imperial fleet moved into the asteroid field. The heavily armored destroyers could easily stand up to the pelting assault of the space rocks, for the most part. Vader herself stood on the deck of her flagship before a trio of holograms, the captains of the other ships.</p><p>"And that was the last time they appeared in any of our scopes." The middle hologram said, as the one on his right winked out. "Considering the amount of damage we've sustained, they must have been destroyed."</p><p>"No, Captain. They're alive." Vader said firmly. "I want every ship available to sweep the asteroid field until they are found."</p><p>The two holograms bowed to her as they winked out, to reveal Ilia walking up to Vader.</p><p>"Yes, Admiral. What is it?" Vader said casually.</p><p>"The Empress commands you to make contact with her." she said.</p><p>Vader wasted no time. "Move the ship out of the asteroid field so that we can send a clear transmission."</p><p>"They're already on it, my Lady."</p><p>"Good."</p><p>Vader returned to her chambers as the ship left the field and stepped onto a small holo-platform behind her meditation pod. She knelt on the platform and spoke with reverence as the image of the Empress flickered to life before her.</p><p>"What is thy bidding, my Master?"</p><p>The holographic face before her may have once been called beautiful, now it was anything but. The eyes were sunken into her face, only her red sclera visible. Her long white hair down from within her black hooded robes, and her white skin was wrinkled, making her look far older than her years.</p><p>"There is a great disturbance in the Force." She said, her voice calm and powerful.</p><p>"I have felt it."</p><p>"We have a new enemy; the young rebel who destroyed the Death Star. I have no doubt this girl is the offspring of Summer Rose."</p><p>"How is that possible?"</p><p>"Search your feelings, Lady Vader. You will know it to be true. She could destroy us."</p><p>"She is just a girl. Taiyang can no longer help her."</p><p>"The Force is strong with her. The last Rose must not become a Jedi."</p><p>"If she could be turned, she would be a powerful ally." Vader suggested.</p><p>The Empress considered the idea briefly. "Yes. She would be a great asset. Can it be done?"</p><p>Vader bowed. "She will join us or die, Master."</p><p>It had begun to rain on Dagobah, much to Penny's dismay. She had disobeyed Ruby's order and followed after her mistress to the Stranger's hut and had been left outside as punishment. Ruby conveniently left out the fact that there was no way Penny would even be able to make it inside without knocking out a wall first.</p><p>"Look, I'm sure it's delicious, but I don't understand why we can't see Ozma now." Ruby said, trying hard to keep it from sounding like whining.</p><p>"Patience!" her host told her, "For the Jedi it is time to eat as well."</p><p>Ruby sighed and walked over to the fire, spooning some the 'food' into a bowl. The stuff hardly looked like food, which was saying something since she had been mostly living off of military food for the past two years. She took a bite and grimaced. She suddenly wished she had some MREs right now. At least those lacked any real taste.</p><p>"Good food. Hmm? Good food." The Stranger said.</p><p>"How far away is Ozma?" Ruby said, changing the subject as she quietly added some sugar she always kept on hand to the food "Will it take us long to get there?"</p><p>"Not far. Ozma not far." The Stranger assured as he joined her by the fire. "Patience. Soon, you will be with him. Why wish you become Jedi? Hmm? Hmm?"</p><p>Ruby shrugged. "Mostly because of my mother, I guess."</p><p>"Ah, mother. Powerful Jedi was she. Mmm, powerful Jedi."</p><p>"Oh, come on, how could you know my mother? You don't even know me." Finally, everything boiled over and she lost it, "I don't even know what I'm doing here. We're wasting our time!"</p><p>The Stranger sighed. "I cannot teach her." he said, "The girl has no patience."</p><p>"<em>She will learn patience."</em> The spectral voice of Taiyang said, making Ruby start and the Stranger scowl before he turned and faced her, all trace of the eccentric hermit gone.</p><p>"Much anger in her, like her mother." He said.</p><p>"<em>Was I any different when you taught me?"</em></p><p>"No. She is not ready."</p><p>Ruby's eyes widened. "Ozma…" he nodded. "I am ready. Ben- I can be a Jedi. Ben, tell him I'm-" she tried to stand but forgot how low the ceiling was.</p><p>"Ready are you?" Ozma questioned, "What know you ready? For 800 years have I trained Jedi."</p><p>"My own counsel will I keep on who is to be trained. A Jedi must have the deepest commitment. The most serious mind." He turned and began speaking to the air, specifically Taiyang, "This one, a long time have I watched. All her life has she looked away. To the future, to the horizon. Never her mind on <em>where she was.</em> Hmm? What she was doing! Hmph. Adventure. Ha! Excitement. Ha! A Jedi craves not these things. You are reckless!"</p><p>"<em>So was I, if you remember."</em></p><p>"She is too old." He said with finality. "Yes. Too old to begin the training."</p><p>"But I've learned so much." Ruby pleaded.</p><p>Ozma sighed. "Will she finish what she begins?" he asked of Taiyang.</p><p>Ruby answered instead. "I won't fail you." Ozma looked at her critically. "I'm not afraid."</p><p>"Oh, you will be." He nodded to himself. "You will be."</p><p>The Imperial fleet had taken up a new tactic in searching the asteroid field, having the Destroyers hang back and destroy any asteroids that posed a threat to them from range, while sending out TIE bombers to the larger ones in order to flush their prey from their hiding place. Too bad for them that their prey was hidden deep within one of the largest asteroids, so the bombs were nothing more than loud pops to them.</p><p>Weiss was sat in the co-pilot seat of the <em>Falcon's </em>cockpit, listening to the bombs drop, when they suddenly stopped. She looked up, waiting for the noise to resume, and saw a shadow pass by. She stood up to get a better look and was greeted by the sudden appearance of a leech-like mouth on the cockpit window. She yelled in alarm and ran for help.</p><p>Meanwhile, Yang, Blake and Ren were continuing with repairs without any Imperial interruptions.</p><p>"Captain, if I may venture an opinion- " Ren said, but Yang cut him off.</p><p>"Not really interested in your opinion, Ren."</p><p>"There's something out there!" Weiss said as she entered the ship's common room.</p><p>"Where?" Yang asked.</p><p>"Outside in the cave."</p><p>A loud banging from outside gave her statement validity, and Yang and Blake grabbed their weapons.</p><p>"Let's go, Blake."</p><p>"Are you crazy?" Weiss asked.</p><p>"I just got this bucket of bolts back together." Yang told her, "I'm not gonna let something tear it apart."</p><p>"Then I'm going with you." Weiss growled, grabbing one of the rebreathers Yang and Blake had grabbed and followed them outside.</p><p>Yang walked down the entry ramp with her pistol at the ready and the rebreather mask over her mouth and nose. Weiss followed close behind and Blake bringing up the rear with her bowcaster.</p><p>"This ground sure feels strange." Weiss commented as she stepped onto the cave floor. "It doesn't feel like rock."</p><p>"There's an awful lot of moisture in here as well." Yang added, noting the light fog that hung on the ground.</p><p>"I don't know. I have a bad feeling about this."</p><p>"Yeah. Me too." Yang turned and her eyes widened. "Heads up!" she yelled, and fired.</p><p>"What happened?" Blake asked loudly, running to the source of the disturbance.</p><p>"It's all right." Yang assured her. "It's all right." she got a look at what she had killed. "Yeah, what I thought. Mynock. Blake, check the rest of the ship and make sure there aren't any more attached, chewing on the power cables."</p><p>"A mynock?" Weiss said, confused.</p><p>"Go on inside. We'll clean them off if there are anymore."</p><p>Weiss screamed when she felt some fly past her head, and yelled for Yang. Blake shouted at one that had latched itself to the front of her weapon, and Ren yelled ineffectually from the cockpit at one that stuck itself to the glass. Yang fired at one that passed by, but missed and hit the wall. Suddenly, the entire cave shook briefly.</p><p>Yang's eyes narrowed. "Wait a minute." she fired again at the ground before her, eliciting the same response as before, but far worse. Everyone grabbed onto something in an attempt to stay upright. That was enough to convince Yang of her theory. "Everyone inside, now!"</p><p>They all ran as quickly as they could as the cave continued to move under their feet, making it back to the ship.</p><p>"Blake! Let's get out of here!" Yang yelled.</p><p>"The Empire is still out there!" Weiss argued, "I don't think- "</p><p>"No time to discuss this in committee."</p><p>"Oof! I am not a committee!"</p><p>Yang successfully made it back to the cockpit and slid into her seat next to Blake, Weiss hot on her heels.</p><p>"You can't make the jump to light speed in this asteroid field." Weiss told her.</p><p>"Sit down, sweetheart. We're taking off."</p><p>The floor finally stopped moving as the <em>Falcon </em>lifted off and began to make it's exit. Ren entered behind them and pointed ahead of them.</p><p>"Look!" he exclaimed.</p><p>"I see it, I see it." Yang growled.</p><p>"The cave is collapsing!" Weiss said.</p><p>"This is no cave."</p><p>Yang was proven right as the <em>Falcon</em> roared out of the hole, followed by a massive eyeless worm with a huge mouth that tried to snap at them, barely missing. As the ship blazed into the void, the worm retreated into its hiding place with a grumble.</p><p>The day had passed on Dagobah, taking the rains with it and leaving a fog in its wake. Ruby was currently climbing up a vine in the middle of the forest, reduced to a tank top and her pants, drenched in sweat and with Ozma on her back in a harness. She reached a solid platform on a tree, grabbed another vine and swung on it to the ground. She paused for a moment before breaking into a run.</p><p>"Yes! Run!" Ozma encouraged, "Yes. A Jedi's strength flows from the Force. But beware the Dark Side. Anger, fear, aggression, the Dark Side of the Force are they. Easily they flow, quick to join you in a fight. If once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny. Consume you, it will! As it did Taiyang's apprentice."</p><p>"Vader." Ruby said as she stopped to breathe. "Is the Dark Side stronger?"</p><p>"No, no. Quicker, easier, more seductive."</p><p>"But how am I to know the good side from the bad?"</p><p>"You will know! When you are calm, at peace. Passive. A Jedi uses the Force for knowledge and defense. Never attack."</p><p>"But tell me why I can't- "</p><p>"No, no. There is no why." Ozma sighed. "Nothing more will I teach you today. Clear your mind of questions." He hummed as Ruby caught her breath and put down his pack.</p><p>Ozma sat on a log as Ruby went over to her jacket. She frowned as she put it on.</p><p>"There's something not right here." She said. "I feel cold… death."</p><p>"That place," Ozma pointed at a cave a few dozen feet off with his gimmer stick, "is strong with the Dark Side of the Force. A domain of evil it is. In you must go."</p><p>"What's in there?"</p><p>Ozma looked down. "Only what you take with you." Ruby put on her belt, planning on taking her blaster and lightsaber with her. "Your weapons. You will not need them." Ruby did so anyway.</p><p>The cave went on for several feet before ending in a six foot drop lined with dried vines and sticks. Ruby carefully made her way down, her breathing evening out as she did. The sensation came on suddenly, her entire body feeling like it was slowing, and the world around her with it. She continued further into the cave, ignoring the wildlife around her.</p><p>She heard it first, the familiar rhythmic breathing. Then came the source, Darth Vader in all her intimidating glory. Ruby remained calm as she ignited her lightsaber and brought it up in the ready Taiyang had showed her. Vader did the same and crossed her red blade with Ruby's blue blade.</p><p>Vader struck first, aiming for Ruby's legs and then her head and finally her chest. Ruby blocked the first two with ease, but struggled on the third of Vader's hammerblows. She pushed the blade away and capitalized on Vader's compromised guard, slashing at her helmet. It came off in a shower of sparks and rolled as it hit the ground. She looked upon her work, unable to believe she had done it, when suddenly the helmet exploded.</p><p>When the smoke cleared, Ruby saw her own face gazing up at her from behind the partially destroyed mask.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Vader's flagship had broken off from the rest of the fleet, setting up to patrol the area of the asteroid field where their prey had entered. The bridge was more crowded than usual, though a good portion of the occupants were anything but Imperial.</p><p>"Bounty Hunters." One of the officers scoffed. "We don't need their scum."</p><p>"Yes, sir." One of his subordinates agreed, "Those rebels won't escape us."</p><p>"Sir, we have a priority signal from the Star Destroyer <em>Avenger</em>." A comms officer told him.</p><p>Meanwhile, Vader was briefing the bounty hunters.</p><p>"There will be a substantial reward for the one who finds the <em>Millenium Falcon</em>." she said, pacing in front of them, "You are free to use any methods necessary, but I want them alive. No disintegrations." She said to one red and black armored bounty hunter in particular.</p><p>"As you wish." He said in Adam’s voice.</p><p>"Lady Vader." The bad-mouthing officer said, walking up to her. "My lady, we have them."</p><p>And indeed they did. The <em>Falcon</em> was currently on the run from a Star Destroyer that had seen them leaving the field. It maintained suppressing fire on the ship, which was desperately avoiding it.</p><p>"Let's get out of here." Yang said, "Ready for light speed?"</p><p>"Ready." Blake said.</p><p>"One… Two… Three!" Yang pulled the lever, but nothing happened. Weiss lowered her head when she heard the powering down sound. "It's not fair."</p><p>"Son of a bitch!" Blake yelled.</p><p>"Transfer circuits aren't working." Yang said, "It's not my fault!"</p><p>"No light speed?" Weiss asked.</p><p>"It's not my fault."</p><p>The ship rocked from another laser blast. Yang sent them into a dive in order to avoid the full brunt of the Star Destroyer's guns.</p><p>"Captain, we've just lost the main rear deflector shield." Ren reported. "One more direct hit on the rear quarter and we're done for."</p><p>"Turn her around." Yang ordered.</p><p>"Have you lost it?!" Blake yelled.</p><p>"Just turn her around! I'm going to put all power in the front shield."</p><p>"You're going to attack them?" Weiss asked incredulously.</p><p>"Ma'am, the odds of surviving a direct assault on an Imperial Star Destroyer- "</p><p>"Shut up!" Weiss ordered of Ren.</p><p>"Or I'll do it for you." Blake added.</p><p>On the bridge of the Star Destroyer, the Captain and his executive officer watched as the <em>Falcon </em>turned their way.</p><p>"They're moving to attack position." The captain realized. "Shields up." The <em>Falcon</em> raced along the length of the Destroyer, but didn't fire it's weapons. Instead, it blazed past the bridge, making everyone near the front of it duck instinctually. "Track them." The captain ordered. "They may come around for another pass."</p><p>"Captain Needa, the ship no longer appears on any of our scopes." One of the lieutenants reported.</p><p>"What the fuck?"</p><p>"They can't have disappeared. No ship that size could have a cloaking device."</p><p>"Well, there's no trace of them sir."</p><p>"Captain, Lady Vader demands an update on the pursuit." One of the operators called out.</p><p>Captain Needa sighed, knowing what was to come of him. "Get a shuttle ready." He told his XO, "I shall assume full responsibility for losing them and apologize to Lady Vader. Meanwhile, continue to scan the area."</p><p>A new day had dawned on Dagobah, and Ruby was still shaken by what she had seen in the cave. She stood on her hands, with Ozma sitting on one of her feet as she extended the other and one of her arms outward.</p><p>"Use the Force." He whispered to her. "Now, the stone." He watched as a large stone lifted off the ground and hovered in the air. "Feel it." The stone lowered onto another.</p><p>Suddenly, Penny began beeping in alarm as Ruby's X-Wing began to sink further into the bog. Ruby lost her control, tried to regain her balance but ultimately fell, taking Ozma with her. She stood and saw that all but the tip of a single wing was now submerged.</p><p>"Oh no," she waded up to her ankles, "We'll never get it out now."</p><p>"So certain are you." Ozma said, shaking his head. "Always with you it cannot be done. Hear you nothing I say?"</p><p>"Master, moving stones around is one thing, but this is totally different."</p><p>"No! No different! Only different in your mind. You must unlearn what you have learned."</p><p>Ruby shrugged. "Alright, I'll give it a try."</p><p>"No! Try not. Do. Or do not. There is no try."</p><p>Ruby nodded and turned back to her ship. She took a deep breath, stretched out her hand and closed her eyes. She reached out with the Force and gripped the ship, willing it to rise up from the swamp. It responded at first, shifting upwards, the water bubbling around the wing tip. Ozma watched with wide eyes; she was actually doing it.</p><p>Ruby's face contorted into a frown, and Penny started beeping again as the X-Wing sank fully into the swamp. Ozma closed his eyes and sighed. So close.</p><p>Ruby flopped down beside him on her back, her chest heaving.</p><p>"I can't do it." She panted. "It's too heavy."</p><p>"Size matters not." Ozma told her. "Look at me. Judge me by my size do you? Hmm?" Ruby shook her head. "And well you should not. For my ally is the Force, and a powerful ally it is. Life creates it, makes it grow. It's energy surrounds us, and binds us. Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter. You must feel the Force around you. Here, between you, me, the tree, the rock, everywhere! Even between the land and the ship."</p><p>Ruby rose and looked down at her teacher. "You want the impossible." She walked away and took a seat on the ground underneath a gathering of trees.</p><p>Ozma shook his head again and closed his eyes. He stretched out his hand, his face the picture of serenity. The swamp water began to bubble again, and Penny started beeping to get Ruby's attention. With an exasperated sigh, Ruby exited her hiding place and her eyes widened instantly.</p><p>She watched as her ship rose from the swamp, water draining out of it and plant life clinging to it. Ozma moved slowly, guiding the ship to a nearby clearing. Ruby's mouth was agape as the ship lightly set down right in front of her.</p><p>She walked over to Ozma. "I don't… I don't believe it."</p><p>Ozma nodded solemnly. "That, is why you fail."</p><p>Back with the fleet, the ships began to move away from the asteroid field on Vader's orders. Captain Needa fell to his knees, clutching his throat and gasping for air before he finally expired at Vader's feet.</p><p>"Apology accepted, Captain Needa." She said, walking around his corpse. She signaled for a pair of troopers to dispose of the body while she approached Ilia.</p><p>"Lady Vader," she said, coming to attention, "Our ships have completed their scan of the area and found nothing. If the <em>Millennium Falcon </em>went into light speed, it'll be on the other side of the galaxy by now."</p><p>"Alert all commands. Calculate every possible destination along their last know trajectory."</p><p>"Yes, my lady. We'll find them."</p><p>"Don't fail me again, <em>Admiral</em>." The way she pointed at Ilia told everyone present who would be the next to go if they did.</p><p>"Alert all commands. Deploy the fleet." She ordered.</p><p>Unbeknownst to every Imperial in the fleet, the <em>Falcon</em> was actually under their very noses, stuck to the backside of the bridge they had buzzed. Yang, Blake and Weiss watched the movement of the Star Destroyers, while Ren was busy berating them. Yang specifically.</p><p>"Captain Xiao Long, this time you have gone to far!" he exclaimed.</p><p>"For the love of GOD! Would you please shut the hell up!" Blake howled at him</p><p>"No, Blake, I will not be quiet! Why doesn't anyone listen to me?"</p><p>"The fleet's beginning to break up." Yang noticed. "Go back and stand by the manual release for the landing claw."</p><p>"Already on it." Blake said, stepping out.</p><p>"I really don't see how that it going to help." Ren said, "Surrender is a perfectly acceptable alternative in extreme circumstances." Yang sighed and looked pleadingly at Weiss. Weiss obliged and quickly switched Ren off before he dug his scrap pile any deeper.</p><p>"Thank you." Yang said dramatically.</p><p>"So, what's the next move?" Weiss asked, leaning forward on the control console.</p><p>"Well, if they follow standard Imperial procedure, they'll dump their garbage before jumping to light speed, and we'll just float away."</p><p>"With the rest of the garbage." Weiss nodded, "Clever. And after that?"</p><p>"After that, we gotta find a safe port somewhere around here." Yang switched on the navicomputer and took a look at their position. "Any ideas?"</p><p>"Dunno. Where are we?"</p><p>"The Anoat system."</p><p>"Anoat system. There's not much out there."</p><p>"No, there isn't. Well, hang on, this is interesting. Emerald."</p><p>"The Emerald system?"</p><p>"Emerald's not a system, she's a person. Emerald Sustrai. She's a cardplayer, gambler. Scoundrel, you'd like her."</p><p>"Thanks." Weiss drawled.</p><p>"Bespin." Yang thought about it. "It's a bit far, but I think we can make it."</p><p>Weiss looked at the screen. "A mining colony?"</p><p>"Yeah, a tibanna gas mine. Emerald conned somebody out of it. We go a long way back, Em and me."</p><p>"Can we trust her?"</p><p>"No. But she's got no love for the Empire either, I can tell you that." They felt the ship move somewhat and Yang sat up in her seat, Weiss sitting back in hers. "Alright, Blake, get ready. Detach."</p><p>They watched as the <em>Falcon </em>pushed off from the ship, letting momentum carry them away from their hiding place. As the cockpit swung back towards the Destroyer, they saw a large hole behind it where large pieces of scrap metal were floating out, just as Yang had planned.</p><p>"You do have your moments." Weiss commented. "Not many, but you do have them." She gave Yang a small peck on the cheek.</p><p>They waited until all the ships had made the jump to light speed before they fired up their own engines and flew the other direction. However, they didn't notice another ship do the exact same thing behind them. From the cockpit of his one-of-a-kind ship, Adam Taurus followed behind them, keeping just far enough away to stay off their radar, but keep them on his.</p><p>Ruby had resumed her training under Ozma, who wisely kept himself on the ground while she returned to her handstand. Penny beeped as she saw the various supply crates begin to lift off the ground.</p><p>"Concentrate." Ozma said, "Feel the Force flow. Yes…" Even Penny began to levitate. "Good. Calm. Yes. Through the Force, things you will see. Other places. The future, the past. Old friends long gone."</p><p>Ruby's eyes suddenly snapped open. "Yang? Weiss!" the objects she had been levitating fell to earth as Ruby let herself fall onto her back.</p><p>Ozma sighed in frustration. "Control, control. You must learn control!"</p><p>"I saw… I saw a city in the clouds." Ruby said, her voice just above a whisper.</p><p>"Hmm… friends you have there."</p><p>"They were in pain."</p><p>"It is the future you see."</p><p>"Future?" Ozma nodded and Ruby stood up. "Will they die?"</p><p>Ozma closed his eyes tightly. "Difficult to see." He looked back up at Ruby. "Always in motion the future is."</p><p>"I've got to go to them." Ruby said, making to ready her ship.</p><p>"Decide you must how to serve them best." Ozma said, stopping her, "If you leave now, help them you could, but you would destroy all for which they have fought and suffered."</p><p>Ruby's face twisted in agony as the words of her mentor and the orders of her gut, mind and heart warred with each other within her.</p><p>Meanwhile, the <em>Falcon</em> had reached its destination, but they were kept in the air by a pair of red two-podded fighters.</p><p>"No, I don't have a landing permit." Yang said for the billionth time to the air traffic controller, "I'm trying to reach Emerald Sustrai." One of the fighters made a pair of warning shots across their nose. "Woah, woah! Wait a minute! Let me explain!"</p><p>"<em>You will not deviate from your present course." </em>The lead fighter pilot ordered as he and his wingman fell into formation around the <em>Falcon.</em></p><p>"Rather touchy, aren't they?" Ren commented.</p><p>"I thought you knew this person." Weiss hissed.</p><p>"She does." Blake said, "But she's also double-crossed her more times than she cares to admit."</p><p>"Well, that was a long time ago, Blake. I'm sure she's forgotten about that by now."</p><p>Thankfully, the group was granted permission to land, and was led to the platform by their guards-turned-escorts.</p><p>Yang breathed a sigh of relief. "Nothing to worry about. We go way back, Emerald and me."</p><p>"Who are you trying to convince?" Weiss asked, "Me or yourself?"</p><p>The city itself was a massive floating parabolic circle-shaped hive with a few spires sticking out of the top. Their landing area was in the city proper, one of many encircling a central building Weiss assumed was the administrative heart of the mining operation.</p><p>"Oh, no one to meet us." Ren commented as they group exited the ship to find an empty platform leading to a sliding door.</p><p>"I don't like this." Weiss said.</p><p>"Well, what would you like?" Yang laughed nervously.</p><p>"This <em>did </em>let us land." Ren pointed out.</p><p>"Look, don't worry. Everything's gonna be fine. Trust me." Behind them, the door swung up, revealing a small group led by a dark-skinned woman with pale mint-green hair. "See? My friend." She walked up and whispered to Blake. "Keep your eyes open just in case, huh?"</p><p>"When she's involved? Always." Blake responded.</p><p>"Hey!" called out, walking up to Emerald confidently.</p><p>"Why, you double-crossing, no-good swindler." Emerald growled. "You got a lot of guts coming here after what you pulled." Yang pointed to herself innocently. Emerald walked closer. She made to punch Yang, and Yang brought her arms up to defend, only for her body to be crushed in a bear hug from the laughing girl before her. "How ya doin' you old pirate? It's so good to see you!"</p><p>"Well, she seems very friendly." Ren commented.</p><p>"Yes." Weiss agreed, still hesitant. "Very friendly."</p><p>"What are you doing here?" Emerald asked Yang as the others approached cautiously.</p><p>"Ah, engine trouble." Yang pointed a thumb back at the <em>Falcon. </em>"I was hoping you could help me out."</p><p>Emerald's face immediately darkened. "What have you done to my ship?"</p><p>"Your ship? Hey, remember, pal, you lost her to me fair and square."</p><p>Emerald grinned. Oh, she remembered. "And how you doing, Blakey? Still hanging around with this loser?"</p><p>Blake shrugged. "What can I say? Life debts are a bitch."</p><p>And then Emerald noticed Weiss. "Hello, what have we here?" she walked up to Weiss and shook her hand. "Welcome, I'm Emerald Sustrai. I'm the administrator of this facility. And who might you be?"</p><p>"Weiss." she said simply and cordially.</p><p>"Weiss." Emerald repeated, kissing Weiss' hand.</p><p>Thankfully, Yang broke it up before things could continue, "Alright, alright, you old smoothie." Yang took Weiss' hand and led her away from the ship. Ren attempted to introduce himself, but was rebuffed, as per usual.</p><p>"So, what's wrong with the <em>Falcon</em>?" Emerald asked, catching up to Yang and Weiss.</p><p>"Hyperdrive." Yang told her.</p><p>"I'll have my people get right to work on it."</p><p>"Good."</p><p>"You know, that ship saved my life quite a few times. She's the fast hunk of junk in the galaxy."</p><p>"How's the gas mine?" Yang asked, knowing the best way to distract Emerald was to get her talking about herself. "Still paying off for ya?"</p><p>"Meh, not as well as I'd like." Emerald said as they started walking the halls. "We're a small outpost and not very self-sufficient. I've had supply problems of every kind, I've had labor disputes- " Yang chuckled out loud. "What's so funny?"</p><p>"You." she said honestly, "Listen to you. You sound like a businesswoman, a responsible leader. Who'd have thunk it, eh?"</p><p>"You know, seeing you again brings back a few things." she looked at Yang for a moment before continuing on, "Yeah, I'm responsible these days. It's the price you pay for being successful."</p><p>Ren continued to bring up the rear of the group as they walked, waiting until he was called for, when he noticed a door open beside him to reveal an identical version of himself, but in chrome.</p><p>"Oh! Nice to see a familiar face." He said said.</p><p>"<em>E chu ta!" </em>his clone said before waling off.</p><p>"How rude!" he heard some beeping coming from beyond the door and moved in to investigate. "That sounds like a P3 unit in there. I wonder if- Hello?"</p><p>"Who are you?" a man asked gruffly, followed by the sounds of several weapons being aimed at him.</p><p>"Oh my! I- I'm terribly sorry. I didn't mean to intrude. No, please don't get up."</p><p>Blake faintly heard the sounds of blaster fire and an explosion even from how far away she was, but decided to investigate for herself later.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>On Dagobah, Ruby had gotten her ship cleaned off of the swamp debris and was prepping her for flight. She had put on her flight suit and was going through final checks with Ozma standing on the ground lecturing her.</p><p>"Ruby, you must complete the training." He insisted.</p><p>"Gah, I can't keep the vision out of my head." she argued, "They're my friends. I gotta help them."</p><p>"You must not go!"</p><p>"But Weiss and Yang will die if I don't."</p><p>"<em>You don't know that." </em>The ethereal voice of Taiyang said, the same apparition Ruby had seen on Hoth appearing behind and to the side of Ozma. "<em>Even Ozma cannot see their fate."</em></p><p>"But I can help them!" Ruby fought, "I feel the Force."</p><p>"<em>But you cannot control it. This is a dangerous time for you, when you will be tempted by the Dark Side of the Force."</em></p><p>"Yes! Yes! To Taiyang you listen." Ozma said, "The cave! Remember your failure at the cave."</p><p>"But I've learned so much since then. Master Ozma, I promise to return and to finish what I've begun, you have my word."</p><p>"<em>It is you and your abilities the Empress wants." </em>Taiyang said,<em> "That is why your friends are made to suffer."</em></p><p>Ruby looked up from her work. "That's why I have to go."</p><p>"<em>Ruby, I don't want to lose you to the Empress the way I lost Vader."</em></p><p>"You won't."</p><p>"Stopped they must be." Ozma said firmly. "On this, all depends. Only a fully trained Jedi Knight, with the Force as their ally, will conquer Vader and her Empress. If you end your training now, if you choose the quick and easy path, as Vader did, you will become an agent of evil."</p><p>"<em>Patience!"</em> Taiyang urged.</p><p>"And sacrifice Weiss and Yang?" Ruby snapped at them, tears beginning to form in her eyes.</p><p>"If you honor what they fight for? Yes."</p><p>"<em>If you choose to face Vader, you will do it alone. I cannot interfere."</em></p><p>Ruby's eyes closed. "I understand." she opened her eyes, Taiyang and Ozma seeing the resolve burning within those silver orbs. "Penny, fire up the converters." Ozma hung his head as Ruby began to climb up the ladder into the cockpit.</p><p>"<em>Ruby! Don't give in to hate."</em> Taiyang yelled in warning. <em>"That leads to the Dark Side."</em></p><p>"Strong is Vader! Mind what you have learned! Save you it can!" Ozma told her.</p><p>"I will!" she told him as the ship began to lift off and the canopy descended. "And I'll come back! I promise!"</p><p>Ozma sighed as the ship began to turn and fly away. "Told you, I did. Reckless is she. Now, matters are worse."</p><p>"<em>That girl is our last hope."</em> Taiyang agreed.</p><p>"No. There is another."</p><p>Back in the Cloud City, a new day had come, and Weiss was pacing nervously around the apartment Emerald had given them to stay in. She had abandoned her winter gear in favor of something more appropriate for an upscale urban setting, going for a balance between ornamentation and practicality. She settled for a light blue shirt and pants, black boots, a loose white coat she could quickly ditch if needed, and her usual long ponytail was done up in a thick braid, held in place by the crown pin her father had given her.</p><p>She turned as Yang entered the room, wearing a cleaned version of the outfit she had arrived in and her blaster pistol hanging in its holster.</p><p>"We're looking good." The blonde told her with a smile, "Just a few more repairs to do, and we should be good to go."</p><p>"The sooner the better." She said, walking up to Yang, "Something is wrong here. No one has seen or knows anything about Ren, and he has been gone too long to have gotten lost."</p><p>"Relax." Yang said gently, kissing her on the forehead, "I'll go talk to Emerald, see what I can find out."</p><p>Weiss took a seat. "I don't trust Emerald."</p><p>"Well, I don't trust her either." Yang said, joining Weiss on the couch, "But she is my friend. Besides, we'll be gone soon enough."</p><p>Weiss looked at her sadly. "And then you will too."</p><p>Yang couldn't meet her eyes. Yes, that had been the plan, but she had never planned on falling for the white-haired princess, or that said princess would return the sentiment. She wanted to stay with Weiss, of course, but staying would mean putting her and Ruby in more danger than just the Empire, and they were dangerous enough as it was.</p><p>Meanwhile, Blake was walking through the junkyard of the city, looking for anything she could use to jerry-rig spare parts, when she noticed a box of scrap containing familiar green and pink plating.</p><p>'Ren? The fuck happened?' she thought, picking up his head and looking it over. The strange pig-faced aliens who worked there shouted at her to put it down, but she simply yelled at them and began to grab every scrap to Ren she could get her hands on. She returned to the apartment just as Yang and Weiss were having their little discussion.</p><p>"Coming through!" she called out, carrying in a pair of boxes containing Ren parts.</p><p>"What happened?" Weiss asked.</p><p>"Beats the hell out of me. I just found him in a junk pile."</p><p>"What was he doing there?" Yang wondered aloud.</p><p>"I managed to salvage him before they could throw him in the furnace."</p><p>Weiss sighed. "What a mess. Blake, you think you can repair him?"</p><p>Blake gave a cocky smile. "Does a bear shit in the woods? It'll take some time, though."</p><p>"Emerald's got people who can fix him." Yang offered.</p><p>"No thanks." Weiss said facetiously.</p><p>A dull gong sound announced the arrival of Emerald into their apartment. "Sorry, am I interrupting anything?"</p><p>"Not really." Weiss said, closing her robe as she crossed her arms over her stomach. Emerald smiled and approached her.</p><p>"You look absolutely beautiful." She said, drinking in her beauty. "You truly belong here with us among the clouds."</p><p>"Thank you." Weiss said politely, hiding her slight discomfort.</p><p>"Would you all care to join me for a little refreshment?" she took Weiss' hand and looked down at the boxes of Ren. "Having trouble with your droid?"</p><p>"Nope." Yang said with her best grin, offering her arm to Weiss, which the princess gladly took as they left the apartment. As they walked, Weiss inquired about Emerald's role in everything in Could City.</p><p>"So you see, since we're a small operation, we don't fall into the jurisdiction of the Empire." She explained.</p><p>"So you're a part of the Mining Guild, then?" Weiss asked.</p><p>"Not really, no. Our operation is small enough not to be noticed. Which is advantageous for everybody, since our customers are anxious to avoid attracting attention to themselves."</p><p>"Well, aren't you afraid the Empire's going to find out about this little operation of yours? Shut you down?" Yang asked.</p><p>"It's always been a danger, and it looms like a shadow over everything we've built. But things have developed that'll ensure security. I've recently made a deal that will keep the Empire out of here forever." She opened up a door in front of them, revealing a dining room with a long white wood table set for multiple people. And at the head of that table sat Vader, who stood when the door opened.</p><p>"I knew it!" Blake yelled as she tried to unsling her bowcaster, but Yang had beaten her to it, drawing her blaster pistol and firing several times at Vader. Vader simply held up a hand and stopped all the bolts before raising her other hand and pulling the weapon into her grasp using the Force.</p><p>"We would be honored if you would join us." She said as the bounty hunter that led them here stepped out from behind a pillar, his EE-3 blaster at the ready. Behind the trio, an entire company of stormtroopers burst into the open and surrounded them.</p><p>Yang looked to Emerald, her eyes blazing red.</p><p>"I had no choice, they arrived just before you did." She explained. "I'm sorry."</p><p>Weiss took Yang's hand to calm her. "I'm sorry too." The blonde said as her eyes returned to their normal color.</p><p>"Traitor." Blake growled.</p><p>After a tense meeting with Vader, Blake found herself thrown into a jail cell with the bars making up the ceiling.</p><p>"You could at least turn off the sirens, asshats!" she yelled, covering her cat ears. To her relief, the sirens fell silent soon after. "Fucking thank you." she muttered, taking a look around. As far as prison went, this was one of the better ones she had been in. At least this one was dry and relatively clean, unlike the last one she had taken residence in.</p><p>'And it comes with busy work.' She thought as her eyes landed on the boxes full of Ren from the apartment. She decided a puzzle was in order to keep herself sane, so she began to think about how to go about it. 'Might as well start with the obvious.' She pulled out Ren's head and chest, and attached them together. She twisted some bolts at the neck joint and Ren began making noise.</p><p>"Probably the last things he said before he went kaboom." She muttered.</p><p>"Stormtroopers?" he said, his mind catching up to him. "Here? We're in danger! I must tell the others! Oh no! I've been shot!"</p><p>Meanwhile, Yang was strapped into a vertical bench by a pair of stormtroopers before a machine that looked like it was meant to do less than comfortable things to people, all the while with Vader supervising. Slowly, Yang was lowered before the machine, and outside, Emerald and Adam waited as her screams echoed through the door.</p><p>"Lady Vader." Emerald said as Vader exited the room, her height forcing her to duck, and pushing past her to speak to Adam.</p><p>"You may take Captain Xiao Long to Roman Torchwick after I have Rose." She told him.</p><p>"She's no good to me dead." Adam reminded her.</p><p>"She will not be permanently damaged." Vader assured.</p><p>"Lady Vader, what about Weiss and the Faunus?" Emerald asked over Yang's continued screaming.</p><p>"They must never again leave this city." She said.</p><p>"That was never a condition of our agreement, nor was handing Yang over to this bounty hunter!"</p><p>"Perhaps you think you're being treated unfairly?" Vader said, towering over Emerald.</p><p>Emerald was smart enough to see where this was going. "No." she growled.</p><p>"Good." Vader said, backing off, "It would be unfortunate if I had to leave a garrison here."</p><p>The doors of Vader's elevator closed. Adam turned on his heel and walked off, while Emerald fumed in place before turning and growling at herself. "This deal is getting worse all the time."</p><p>"Oh yes, that's very good. I like that." Ren said as Blake was working on the panel on his back. "Oh! Well, something's not right because now I can't see." Blake scowled and messed with his neck a little. "Oh, oh, oh, that's much better. Now if we could just fix the part where I'm <em>backwards</em> things would- " Blake immediately hit his off button.</p><p>"Asshole." She muttered.</p><p>Suddenly, the door opened and a pair of stormtroopers walked in carrying Yang on their shoulders. They set her down on her knees in the middle of the room and walked out as she fell, catching herself at the last second. Once Blake was sure they were gone, she helped Yang to her feet.</p><p>"I feel terrible." Yang said.</p><p>"You look it." Blake replied. She pushed a button on the wall and a bench came out. "Here." She said, laying Yang on her back.</p><p>The door opened again, and this time Weiss was pushed in. She stumbled, but quickly recovered and ran to Yang's side.</p><p>"Why are they doing this?" she asked no one in particular as she stroked Yang's mane.</p><p>"They never even asked me any questions." Yang said.</p><p>"Emerald." Weiss said as the door opened again and the woman in question entered. With a grunt, Yang propped herself up as best she could.</p><p>"Get out, traitor." Blake growled, her hands clenched in barely restrained anger.</p><p>"You heard her, Em." Yang said weakly.</p><p>"Shut up and listen!" Emerald shot back. "Vader's agreed to turn Weiss and Blake over to me. They'll have to stay here, but at least they'll be safe."</p><p>"What about Yang?" Weiss asked.</p><p>"Vader's giving her to the bounty hunter."</p><p>"Vader wants us all dead."</p><p>"She doesn't want you at all! She's after someone called Rose."</p><p>"Ruby?" Yang sat up a bit straighter.</p><p>"Vader's set a trap for her."</p><p>"And we're the bait!" Weiss said.</p><p>"She's on her way."</p><p>"Yeah," Yang growled, standing up weakly, "You fixed us all real good, didn't you? My friend." She swung out and caught Emerald on the chin, but fell forward with her in the attempt.</p><p>"Stop!" Emerald ordered when the Imperial guards pulled their blaster pistols and leveled them at the prisoners. She got back up and dusted herself off. "I've done all I can. I'm sorry I couldn't do better, but I got my own problems to deal with."</p><p>"Yeah, you're a real hero." Yang said sarcastically.</p><p>"You certainly have a way with people." Weiss said, as she and Blake helped Yang back to her feet.</p><p>Deep within Cloud City, Vader was overseeing the final preparations for her trap for Ruby, with Emerald accompanying her.</p><p>"This facility is crude," Vader commented, "but it should be adequate to freeze Rose for her journey to the Empress."</p><p>"Lady Vader!" one of her officers called out as he approached, "Ship approaching, X-Wing class."</p><p>"Good. Monitor Rose and allow her to land."</p><p>"Lady Vader," Emerald said when the officer left, "We only use this facility for carbon freezing. You put her in there, it might kill her."</p><p>"I do not want the Empress' prize damaged. We will test it on Captain Xiao Long."</p><p>A few minutes later, Yang, Weiss, and Blake, who was bearing a half-completed Ren on her back, were escorted to the freezing chamber by Adam and a squad of stormtroopers. Ren complained to Blake about his current position, but she ignored him, focused solely on Yang as she and Weiss moved to stand next to Emerald.</p><p>"What's going on,<em> buddy</em>?" Yang asked angrily as Vader descended into the facility.</p><p>"You're being put into carbon freeze." She replied.</p><p>"What if she doesn't survive?" Adam asked of Vader, "She's worth a lot to me."</p><p>"The Empire will compensate you if she dies." Vader assured him. "Put her in."</p><p>"Heartless bastards!" Blake yelled. She nearly started throwing punches but for Yang stepping in to stop her.</p><p>"Blake, stop! Stop!" Yang shouted at her. "Blake, listen to me!"</p><p>"Yang you can't do this!"</p><p>"Blake, this won't help me. Save your strength. There'll be another time." A stormtrooper clapped a pair of binders on Blake's wrists for safety. "The princess; you have to take care of her. You hear me?"</p><p>"Damn you." she whispered, trying to hold her tears back.</p><p>Yang sighed and looked down at Weiss before smashing their lips together passionately. The kiss was broken when a pair of stormtroopers each grabbed one of Yang's arms and pulled her into position.</p><p>"I love you." Weiss said.</p><p>"I know." Yang said stoically.</p><p>The platform she stood on was then lowered into the freezing machine and the last thing they saw of Yang Xiao was her face shifting to fear before she was blasted by thick cold smoke that rose out of the machine.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 8</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A large, thick metal claw descended into the machine and Blake wailed in grief. The platform Yang had stood on came back up to reveal the blonde renegade frozen in a solid block of greyish stone, her face contorted in preparation for pain and her hands raised defensively. Neither Weiss nor Blake had seen Yang look so vulnerable. Her slab fell backwards with such a thud, Weiss and Blake held each other for support.</p><p>"Oh, they've encased her in carbonite." Ren said as he finally got a good look at what had happened behind him. "She should be very well protected, if she survived the freezing process, of course."</p><p>Emerald walked to the opposite side of the slab from Weiss and Blake, and checked a small panel on the side of the slab.</p><p>"Well, Sustrai," Vader asked, "Did she survive?"</p><p>"Yes, she's alive," Emerald answered grimly, "And in perfect hibernation."</p><p>"She's all yours, bounty hunter." Vader said to Adam, before turning to her men. "Reset the chamber for Rose."</p><p>The same officer from before walked into the chamber and up to Vader. "Rose has just landed, my Lady."</p><p>"Good. See to it that she finds her way in here. Sustrai," she walked up to Emerald when she took Weiss' arm and Blake growled, "Take the princess and the faunus to my ship."</p><p>"You said they'd be left in the city under my supervision." Emerald argued.</p><p>"I am altering the deal. Pray I don't alter it any further." Vader said threateningly.</p><p>Emerald glared at the Dark Lady's back. She looked to the frozen form of Yang, then to Blake and Weiss, still clutching each other and released an angry sigh. 'Fine. You wanna be an asshole? Two can play that game.'</p><p>Ruby walked carefully and quietly through the halls of Cloud City, Penny following her. She had been on edge since she landed. The whole place seemed deserted, and no one had approached her when she touched down. She had taken off her flight suit, and was dressed in the clothes she had worn on Dagobah, her lightsaber clipped to her belt and her blaster pistol at the ready.</p><p>Meanwhile, Adam led the frozen form of Yang back to his ship, escorted by a pair of Imperial technicians and stormtroopers. Ruby heard them coming and hid around the corner from them. When they passed, she followed after. She was about to round another corner when Adam popped out and fired at her. Ruby managed to make it back into cover, but the shots were heard by Weiss' group, led by Emerald and another squad of stormtroopers. Emerald took advantage of the distraction to use the small control pad built into her wrist communicator to send instructions to her cybernetic lieutenant.</p><p>Ruby ran down the hall Adam went and ran into Weiss' escort. The officer in charge ordered the stormtroopers to suppress her while he pushed Weiss and Blake forward.</p><p>"Ruby!" Weiss yelled out as the officer pushed her through a doorway. "Ruby, don't! It's a trap!"</p><p>Ignoring her, Ruby followed after them, her path leading right into the freezing chamber. Her exit locked behind her and the lights in the room came on fully.</p><p>"The Force is with you, young Rose." Vader intoned as she stood at the top of the stairs before the freezing pit. "But you are not a Jedi yet."</p><p>Ruby's eyes hardened as she put away her blaster and drew her lightsaber. The blue blade came to life as she reached the top of the stairs and was held at the ready. Vader drew her own blood red blade and crossed it with Ruby's.</p><p>Ruby struck first with a pair of overhead strikes that Vader easily blocked. Ruby went for the same move, but stronger, but Vader blocked that too and threw Ruby onto her ass, showing the Dark Lady's superior physicality. She allowed Ruby to rise, putting both hands on her saber and taking a defensive ready. Ruby advanced, and Vader retreated to keep the distance. Ruby struck again with a pair of blows to the head and a third to the legs. Vader countered with a strike at the chest, but Ruby blocked, spun and blocked the follow-up. From there, the duel turned into a dance of clashing blades</p><p>As the duo fought below, Emerald led Weiss and Blake's escort into an ambush by her own people. Before they even knew what happened, the officer and all the stormtroopers were disarmed and at Emerald's mercy.</p><p>"Well done." Emerald told her silent second, "Hold them in the security tower, and keep in quiet."</p><p>Left alone, Emerald began to undo Blake's restraints while Weiss looked bewildered.</p><p>"What do you think you're doing?" Weiss asked, holding a pair of blasters Emerald had given her.</p><p>"We're getting out of here."</p><p>Once even one hand was free, Blake reached up and took hold of Emerald's throat, pushing her up against a wall and squeezing.</p><p>"Traitor!" she roared.</p><p>"Do you think after what you did to Yang we're going to trust you?" Weiss asked.</p><p>"I had no choice!" Emerald croaked, grasping at Blake's wrists.</p><p>"Oh, we understand, don't we Blake?" Weiss said snidely, "She had no choice."</p><p>"Was just trying to help." Emerald choked out, falling to her knees.</p><p>"We don't need any of your help."</p><p>"Y- y- "</p><p>"Speak up, girl, I can't hear you from down there." Blake growled.</p><p>"Y- Yang!"</p><p>"What?"</p><p>"It sounds like she's saying Yang." Ren piped up.</p><p>Blake loosened her hold slightly. "There's still a chance to save Yang!" Emerald said. "At the east… platform…"</p><p>"Blake." Weiss said, tapping the woman's arm. Immediately, she released Emerald, took one of the blasters Weiss offered her, and followed after the white-haired girl.</p><p>"I'm terribly sorry about this." Ren said, "After all, she is a Faunus."</p><p>Unfortunately for them, Adam and his prize had already reached his ship.</p><p>"Put Captain Xiao Long in the cargo hold." He ordered, watching the Imperial technicians load his meal ticket.</p><p>As Weiss and company raced through the halls to the east platform, they inadvertently passed Penny, who whistled we she saw them.</p><p>"P3, P3, where have you been?" Ren asked.</p><p>Blake turned and saw the pink and green droid. "Hurry up! No time to explain!"</p><p>"Turn around you cat-eared oaf, I'll explain." Ren said. "Hurry, P3! We're trying to save Yang from the bounty hunter!" Penny beeped a reply. "Well, at least you're still in one piece. Look what happened to me!"</p><p>The trio arrived at the dock just as Adam was lifting off, but Blake took shots at him anyway, while Weiss looked on solemnly.</p><p>"Oh no! Blake, they're behind you!" Ren yelled as a squad of stormtroopers appeared in the hall they had come from. Taking cover behind the door frame, Blake laid down cover fire while Emerald led Weiss down a hall to the left.</p><p>Back in the freezing chamber, Ruby and Vader broke apart with another shove from Vader.</p><p>"You have learned much, young one." Vader commented.</p><p>"You'll find I'm full of surprises." Ruby grunted as she launched another series of attacks at Vader's head and feet. She stumbled when Vader pressed briefly and her saber was lost with a spin and a flick of Vader's wrist, falling to the ground at the base of the stairs. Vader slashed at Ruby, but Ruby dodged by tumbling down the stairs. Vader leapt down the stairs after her, forcing Ruby to dodge again, putting her on one knee with the Dark Lady's blade pointed at her.</p><p>"Your destiny lies with me, Rose." Vader said. "Taiyang knew this to be true."</p><p>"No." Ruby replied defiantly, ignorant to the trap that laid open just behind her very feet.</p><p>Vader slashed at her again. Ruby tried to backpedal, but her foot found only air and she fell backward into the freezing pit.</p><p>"All too easy." Vader said, using the Force to flip the activation switch. "Perhaps you are not as strong as the Empress thought."</p><p>What she hadn't seen was Ruby Force-jumping out of the pit just before the sequence could begin. A loud banging above her revealed Ruby climbing the cables on the ceiling.</p><p>"Impressive." Vader admitted, a grin audible in her voice. She slashed at Ruby, catching a few power cables, but not her opponent. "Most impressive."</p><p>Ruby landed on her feet on the other side of the pit from Vader. The Dark Lady moved to strike at her, but Ruby grabbed a hose and blasted Vader with freezing gases. She instantly called her lightsaber to her hand, and activated the blade as she swung it around to block Vader's next strike.</p><p>"Taiyang has taught you well." Vader mused. "You have controlled your fear." Vader went for three more strikes, all of which Ruby blocked. "Now, release your anger. Only your hatred can destroy me." Another flurry of blows forced Ruby to flip over Vader's head, quickly taking the offensive with blow after blow, forcing Vader to give ground. Reaching the edge of the platform, Ruby kicked her opponent, causing her to fall into blackness.</p><p>Ruby deactivated her weapon and jumped down after Vader. A door opened to her right, leading into a round metal tunnel. Cautiously, she stepped in and the tunnel lit up. Passing through, the door closed behind her as she entered a new room. Some kind of control room if the consoles and window were any indication. All else was considered secondary when she heard the familiar rhythmic breathing of Darth Vader, but was unable to find the source.</p><p>She activated her blade again when she saw the Dark Lady walking up to her calmly, weapon at the ready.</p><p>Ruby inched closer, when suddenly a piece of machinery detached from the wall and flew at her from behind. Quickly, she turned and sliced it in half before finishing the pirouette and blocking Vader's attack. A short exchange found them in yet another deadlock, only for Ruby to be struck by a metal box, knocking her over. Vader backed off as Ruby recovered, and another box glanced off Ruby's shoulder. She pointed her lightsaber at Ruby and another wall mounting flew at her.</p><p>It missed Ruby, but hit the window. Air rushed out as the air pressure tried to equalize. Vader grabbed a nearby handle, while Ruby was flung out the window. Vader let go as the wind stopped and tried to see where Ruby fell. Looking down, she saw Ruby hanging from a bridge, grasping for purchase. Ruby managed to pull herself up and took the time she had to recover from the experience.</p><p>Back up top, Weiss shot another stormtrooper, forcing the ones following them to take cover before she took off again after Blake and Emerald. The trio and Penny crammed into an elevator, losing their pursuers for a moment. Getting out, they ran for the landing pad that housed the <em>Falcon</em>. Emerald cursed when she couldn't get the door open.</p><p>"The security code's been changed." She growled.</p><p>"P3! You can tell the computer to override the security systems." Ren said.</p><p>As Penny set to work, Emerald walked over to an intercom and activated an all channels broadcast.</p><p>"Attention, this is Emerald Sustrai." She said, her voice echoing all over the city, "Attention. The Empire has taken control of the city. I advise everyone to leave before more Imperial troops arrive."</p><p>Electricity ran up the plug Penny was using to talk to the city computer. She made several strange noises as she shook with what appeared to be pain.</p><p>"Come on, alternate route." Emerald said, taking the lead.</p><p>"Well, don't blame me." Ren told Penny, "I'm only an interpreter. I'm not supposed to know a power socket from a computer terminal." Penny responded with several rude-sounding noises.</p><p>The halls of Cloud City were filled with people running about in panic, making for perfect cover as the trio made their way the long way around to the ship. This time, there was a proper computer terminal for Penny to work her magic on. Meanwhile, Weiss, Blake and Emerald held off the increasing number to Imperial troops gathering at their position.</p><p>Still smoking from earlier, Penny bleeped something while she worked.</p><p>"AH!" Ren yelled in alarm, "We're not interested in the <em>Millennium Falcon's </em>hyperdive. It's fixed! Just open the door! There's more of them!"</p><p>Penny whistled loudly as the door began to rise.</p><p>"Oh! I never doubted you for a second. Wonderful!"</p><p>Emerald had to physically pull Weiss away as Penny created a smokescreen to cover their escape. They ran across the landing platform without cover, dodging blaster bolts that impacted upon the <em>Falcon.</em> Blake went in first, placing Ren on the ground outside the cockpit before she began the start-up cycle, while Emerald and Weiss found some cover behind the landing gear.</p><p>"Weiss!" Emerald yelled out, "Go! I'll cover you!"</p><p>"I thought that hairy beast would be the end of me." Ren said as Penny pulled him across the floor into the common room. Penny beeped a comment. "Of course I've looked better."</p><p>The <em>Millennium Falcon </em>took off just as the rest of the stormtroopers made their way onto the platform, still firing on the ship.</p><p>Within the bowels of Cloud City, Ruby had returned to her feet and took in her surroundings. She didn't know what she was walking on, but she knew it was not a safe place to fight like she had been. She found a doorway around a corner ahead of her and went through, lightsaber ready to go. She felt Vader's attack coming, the Dark Lady slashing down at where she was going. Ruby jumped back and activated her blade, holding it defensively.</p><p>As she blocked a fresh series of attacks by Vader, she realized that her opponent had changed to a far more aggressive fighting style. She was pushed back out onto the catwalk, dodging Vader's hammerblows to save her strength and letting them impact on the walls around her with a shower of sparks.</p><p>She managed some offense once or twice, but Vader blocked and countered each time, pushing Ruby back constantly. They locked blades, only to Vader to push her onto her back, blade at her throat.</p><p>"You are beaten." Her opponent said calmly, "It is useless to resist. Don't let yourself be destroyed as Taiyang did."</p><p>Ruby responded by batting the red blade aside and getting to her feet as Vader slashed down at where she had been. She blocked one strike, dodged another, struck at Vader's shoulder, was blocked, dodged another strike and struck Vader in the shoulder with a shower of sparks.</p><p>"Unh!" Vader grunted in pain, holding her shoulder for a moment. She slashed back at Ruby in a rage, but the black-haired girl had gone over the ledge. They locked blades again, but Vader spun her sword, cutting off Ruby's hand just above the wrist. With a yell, Ruby fell to her knees, hand still gripping the railing for balance.</p><p>"There is no escape." Vader told her. "Don't make me destroy you." Carefully, Ruby began to back up along the thin beam she was crouched on. "Ruby, you do not yet realize your importance. You have only <em>begun</em> to discover your power. Join me, and I will complete your training. With our combined strength, we can <em>end </em>this destructive conflict and bring order to the galaxy."</p><p>"I'll never join you!" Ruby defied as she reached a pylon at the end on the metal beam.</p><p>Vader stretched her hand out to Ruby. "If only you knew the power of the Dark Side. Taiyang never told you what happened to your mother."</p><p>"He told me enough." Ruby said angrily, running mostly on adrenaline. "He told me you kill her."</p><p>"No, <em>I </em>am your mother."</p><p>"No." Ruby said, clinging to the pylon as though it were her sanity made manifest, "That's not true. That's impossible!"</p><p>"Search your feelings. You <em>know</em> it to be true." Vader insisted.</p><p>"NO!" Ruby wailed.</p><p>"Ruby. You can destroy the Empress." Vader told her, seeing her weakness. "She has foreseen this. It is your <em>destiny.</em> Join me, and together we can rule the galaxy as mother and daughter." Ruby looked around her, trying to find a way out, but found none. She looked back to Vader, her hand outstretched. "Come with me. It is the only way."</p><p>Instead, Ruby let go. It had worked with the Death Star, so she trusted that the Force would guide her. and guide her it did. Vader did not see it, but Ruby fell into a series of tubes that wound their way under the city. Her momentum carried her through them like a slide until she came to a stop.</p><p>She tried to stand, but the floor opened beneath her, causing her to fall into the open air and land roughly on an antennae under the city. She tried to climb back into the hole, but with only a single hand she wasn't fast enough, and sunk back onto the thin metal bar under her feet. She called out for Taiyang to help her, but remembered what he had said on Dagobah. Instead, she thought of the only other person she could.</p><p>"Weiss." she called out with the Force.</p><p>In the cockpit of the <em>Millennium Falcon,</em> Weiss's eyes widened.</p><p>"Ruby." She whispered. "We've got to go back."</p><p>"What?" Emerald asked, bewildered.</p><p>"I know where Ruby is." Weiss told Blake.</p><p>"What about those fighters?" Emerald protested.</p><p>"You sure about this?" Blake asked.</p><p>"Blake, just do it."</p><p>"What about Vader- " Emerald said.</p><p>"Shut up, you don't get a vote!" Blake yelled at their plus one.</p><p>"Alright, alright!" Emerald said defensively.</p><p>Back at the city, Vader walked through the halls with some of his troops and an officer.</p><p>"Alert my Star Destroyer to prepare for my arrival." She ordered, her mood obvious in her tone.</p><p>At the same time, the <em>Falcon </em>came up on the city.</p><p>"Look," Emerald pointed to one of the antennae under the city, "Someone's up there."</p><p>"It's Ruby." Weiss said with certainty. "Blake, slow down and try to get under her. Emerald, open the top hatch."</p><p>Carefully, Blake and Weiss maneuvered the <em>Falcon</em> so that it sat directly under Ruby, giving her plenty of room to land if she fell. As Emerald rose up to the hatch, she clipped one end of a nine foot length of rope to a belt she had put on, and the other to a railing just under the hatch itself. Ruby allowed herself to fall when she saw the unfamiliar form coming out of the familiar ship, feeling that it was someone she could trust.</p><p>"Emerald?" Weiss asked, noticing a trio of TIE fighters approaching them.</p><p>"Go, we're in." she heard Emerald say and Blake immediately turned away from the Imperial fighters as Weiss hurried back to Ruby, letting Emerald take her place. Weiss got Ruby to a medical station near the common room and hooked her in as best she could. The ship rocked as it dodged and took laser fire from the fighters still on their tail.</p><p>Weiss kissed Ruby on the forehead. "I'll be right back."</p><p>"Alright, Blake. Ready for light speed." Emerald said once they had left the planet behind them, altering their course to avoid the Super Star Destroyer in their path.</p><p>"<em>If </em>your people fixed the hyperdrive." Weiss commented. "All the coordinates are set. It's now or never."</p><p>"Punch it." Emerald ordered. Blake pulled the switch, but they only heard a powering-down noise in return. Weiss and Blake looked at each other, before looking to Emerald.</p><p>"God damn it!" Blake yelled.</p><p>"They told me they fixed it." Emerald said, "I trusted them!"</p><p>"Well, clearly they didn't and you are a fucking idiot for thinking so!"</p><p>"It's not my fault!" Blake pushed Emerald aside as she left to fix what she could.</p><p>Ilia walked up to Vader as the Dark Lady walked onto the bridge. "They'll be in range of the tractor beam in moments, my lady."</p><p>"Did your men deactivate the hyperdrive on the <em>Millennium Falcon</em>?" Vader asked.</p><p>"Yes, my lady."</p><p>"Good. Prepare the boarding party, and set your weapons for 'stun.'"</p><p>Blake cursed loudly as she lifted more plates off the floor.</p><p>"Noisy brute." Ren commented, almost fully fixed, with only one leg left to attach, "Why don't we just go to light speed?" Penny beeped at him while she worked on his foot. "We can't?" more beeping. "How would you know the hyperdrive is deactivated?" beeping and whistling. "The city's central computer told you? P3-N1, you know better than to trust a strange computer. Ouch! Pay attention to what you're doing."</p><p>As the <em>Falcon </em>made a pass in front of the Super Star Destroyer, Vader reached out through the Force.</p><p>"Ruby."</p><p>"Mother."</p><p>"Ruby, come with me."</p><p>Ruby did not answer her. "Ben, why didn't you tell me?" she whispered to herself before she climbed out of bed and made her way to the cockpit. She sat down behind Weiss, her eyes haunted.</p><p>"Ruby, it is your <em>destiny.</em>" Vader told her through the Force.</p><p>As the fighters harried the <em>Falcon, </em>the Destroyer began to gain on them.</p><p>"Alert all commands and ready the tractor beam." Ilia ordered.</p><p>Back on the ship, Blake was having no luck with the ship's hardware, while Penny rolled over to a computer terminal on the wall behind Blake.</p><p>"P3, come back this instance. You haven't finished with me yet. You don't know how to fix the hyperdrive. Let Blake do it. I'm standing here in pieces, and you're having delusions of grandeur!"</p><p>Despite the rantings of her counterpart, Penny jacked in to the terminal and worked her magic. Immediately, the entire ship lurched as it jumped forward into light speed.</p><p>Vader turned away afterward, looking back almost with longing before she left for her meditation pod, leaving the bridge unnerved by the lack of anger and carnage the Dark Lady was famous for.</p><p>Days later, the <em>Millennium Falcon </em>sat underneath a ship amongst a sea of vessels massing together for safety. Ruby was in the larger ship's medical bay, being fitted with a prosthetic hand covered with synthetic skin. She was laying in her bed as the medical droid did its work, Weiss, Penny and Ren nearby, while she spoke to Emerald over a communicator.</p><p>"Ruby, we're ready for take off." Emerald reported. The two girls had grown close since they had met officially.</p><p>"Good luck, Emerald." Ruby replied.</p><p>"When we find Roman Torchwick and that bounty hunter, we'll contact you."</p><p>"I'll meet you at the rendezvous point on Tattooine."</p><p>"Princess, we'll find Yang. I promise."</p><p>"Blake, I'll be waiting for your signal. Take care, you two. May the Force be with you."</p><p>The line cut off as Emerald and Blake, now on much better terms since the former had volunteered to rescue Yang as penance, detached from the ship, left the fleet and made the jump to hyperspace. Weiss watched them leave, while Ruby's doctor droid made sure everything in the new hand worked by pricking two of Ruby's fingers, then her palm. Satisfied the work was done, Ruby closed everything up and walked over to stand next to Weiss, who now admired the swirling mass of light that was a galaxy in the distance.</p>
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